


Clouds

by SovietBullet



Category: El Cor de la Ciutat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 15:05:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 56,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17645102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SovietBullet/pseuds/SovietBullet





	Clouds

“That guy is a total fucking snob.”

It took Ten a few seconds to process that Xiaojun was talking, and even a touch longer to process just what he was saying and who he was saying it about. After a beat, Ten let out a hum of acknowledgment, for Xiaojun to continue.

“I don’t know what it is about him,” Xiaojun said, nodding his head in the direction of the television, “but he just looks snooty as hell.”

“It might have to do with the fact that he’s royalty, and we are... not.”

“Royalty is viewed as a god-given right in most countries.” Xiaojun scoffed and looked down at his toes, sweeping a fresh coat of polish across his pinky toe and blowing patiently on it. “Not just being stupid-filthy rich and having that title thrown upon you.”

“Sounds like you have something against this....” Ten squinted at the screen, “Jung Yoonoh, guy.”

“He doesn’t even like being called his birth name. He has everyone call him Jaehyun.”

“Oh, the two letter difference is  _huge.”_

“Could you let me vent for once?”

Ten shrugged in nonchalance, turning his attention back to the television, and more importantly, to ignoring whatever it was Xiaojun felt the need to complain about that night. If it so happened to be the royal family, then so be it.

Not that Ten was planning on listening or anything, but he’d let Xiaojun think he was. He was his roommate after all.

  


Ten didn’t pride any part of himself on caring about the royal family, which was to say that Ten knew next to nothing about them. Sure, he had managed to catch glimpses of media and tabloid reports on them, or maybe some interviews on television when he was flipping through the channels debating on watching porn or maybe settling for some trashy show like he usually did, but other than that, he didn’t really...  _care._ Per se.

(Of course, if he implied that Xiaojun  _cared_ about the royal family in any other form than hating their guts, Xiaojun would have gasped and turned a nose up at him in a heartbeat. So maybe it wasn’t the right word to use, but Ten didn’t really care about that either.)

The modern royal family came to power through a few government turmoils and economic struggles while Ten was in high school. Because of their relative newness to their own society, Ten didn’t have a chance to learn about them formally, like most younger kids did in school now. When their last president was performing poorly, and the collective had enough, they had overthrown them, and the rest of the government underneath them. It was all very medieval, Ten thought, while sitting back in his seat and lazily crossing one leg over the other. Where the fuck was his client?

With the new government came new rules, new names for things, new laws. They were more relaxed on certain things the government wouldn’t have even considered before, but there also came the odd twist of words they applied to normal activities that most definitely affected Ten.

The main one being Ten’s profession. Calling himself a prostitute didn’t exactly induce any sort of pride, but that wasn’t to say that Ten was embarrassed to say so. It was just the connotation of the word. Perhaps that was why the royal family had changed the word from  _prostitute_ to  _escort_ or  _plus one._ Ten couldn’t count on one hand how many times he had been introduced as the  _plus one_ at parties, only for nearby groups of people to giggle into their hands, as if they had anything to laugh about when he had seen some of their significant others soliciting services from him and his friends in the business, but he digressed.

While the activities Ten performed didn’t change, the stigma on being an escort seemed to change drastically, even with the royal family being involved with escorts and plus ones in public and prestigious gatherings. Xiaojun recounted his story of being propositioned of a night with a member of the royal family. Xiaojun never could point out which one it was, though, nor could he explain why he didn’t accept, other than the fact that he found the royal family to be  _“bullshit, complete and total bullshit.”_

Like Ten said, he didn’t pride himself on caring about the royal family even in the slightest, nor did Ten have any interest in being involved with them. He just liked making enough money to pay his bills and spend a little extra treating himself with trips or vacations whenever he deemed necessary.

But sitting there in front of his computer, studying the royal family and their habits proved to be no better than listening to Xiaojun ramble on about his distaste for them, save for the fact that Ten had the chance to ogle Jung Yoonoh, and by association, his brother, Jung Donghyun. He supposed it wasn’t ogling so much as it was familiarizing himself with them.

Yoonoh and Donghyun had only a few faint traits similar to one another, but differed in the slimness of their faces, the slopes of their jaws, how Donghyun always seemed to be smiling in public photos of the family, whereas Yoonoh was... scowling. Of some sorts. It definitely wasn’t the bright smile his brother had, that was for sure.

“Xiaojun, who was the one they said I’d be seeing?” Ten called. Xiaojun poked his head in the room.

“How should I remember?”

“Their names are so familiar, I can’t remember which one it was....”

“If it’s Yoonoh, you’re in for a real  _treat.”_

Ten shooed Xiaojun away after their short conversation, had to rummage through his closet for some clothes that looked half decent, or run the risk of Taeyong chiding him the next day for not even dressing up properly. The last time that happened, Taeyong had replaced his wardrobe without warning Ten of it. Rest in peace to all those lost t-shirts.

Ten didn’t mind a lot of things, like people snickering at him when he was called a plus-one, or people having misconceptions about his career. Ten didn’t mind his friends teasing him about it, even though they were thankful when he paid the bar tab at the end of the night.

And particularly, Ten didn’t mind some of the highbrow clients he seemed to get every now and then amongst the regulars— the most recent of which being one of the sons of the royal Jung family.

  
  
  
  


Xiaojun, before Ten had left, made sure to express his disgust that Ten hadn’t denied the invitation to the party, even though the invite came with payment almost double of what was in Ten’s bank account at the moment, which would have made any sort of party worthwhile. Ten was sure if the invite had come in for Xiaojun instead of him, he’d have a hard time believing Xiaojun wouldn’t go, if only to experience that sort of thing once.

Ten still hadn’t managed to get a name out of anybody as to which Jung brother it was. It seemed everybody was tight lipped about it, even though there was hardly a stigma on that kind of thing anymore. All kinds of celebrities were seen with escorts at parties and social events. If anything, it was more embarrassing for the escort, as they were treated like playthings, almost.

But Ten did his best to clean himself up, even putting some product in his hair and sweeping it back so he wouldn’t constantly have to run his fingers through it and seem all the more unnecessary at the party. He only hoped whichever brother he got was conversational, or at least comfortable with Ten keeping quiet while he listened.

By the time they pulled up at the party, due to traffic, Ten was... late. Not so late that it would seem he had forgotten or didn’t want to be there, but enough for Ten to feel self-conscious as he slipped out of the car and followed a young man leading the way into the venue.

Oh god, Ten was severely underdressed.

As soon as he walked in, he found people dressed in clothes Ten wasn’t even sure he could dream to afford one day. From overflowing dresses leaking into conversations they weren’t meant to be in, to men donning masquerade masks and jackets glimmering under the lights, and shoes, and glittering watches, and not one familiar face in the entire crowd— god, Ten was practically peasantry to all these people.

“This way,” the young man caught Ten’s attention with his words, waved in the direction of another room off to the side of the venue.

Compared to the rest, all of the people in this room seemed much calmer, the conversation soft and sweet, a small band playing in the offright stage of the room while Ten ducked his head and walked in after the young man.

“Should you need anything, my name is Jungwoo. I’ll be here to assist you for most of the night.”

“Jungwoo,” Ten repeated, over the quiet conversation.

“Yes. This way,” he said.

Ten followed Jungwoo all the way to a separate table, where at the middle of it, Ten recognized the queen, who seemed all the more intimidating in real life than she did from her photos. Despite the smile she very plainly wore, Ten couldn’t look at her for more than a few seconds before shivering and looking away. Jungwoo stifled a small laugh behind his hand, tried not to appear unprofessional, but clearly caught onto the stiffness in Ten’s posture.

“Ah, Jungwoo!”

Jungwoo immediately raised his head at the mention of his name, slowed to a stop, as did Ten, after stumbling into Jungwoo’s back with a soft  _oof!_

“Your highness.” Jungwoo bowed his head. Ten dumbly ducked his head without looking at who it was, staring at his shoes until he noticed Jungwoo standing straight.

“I told you Gongmyung was okay. Or Donghyun! Let’s be comfortable, right?”

“With all due respect, I don’t think our royal queen would appreciate me on such casual terms.”

“She doesn’t have to know  _everything,”_ replied the other, before nodding in Ten’s direction. Ten froze, shoulders rising with the tension as he held his breath. “Is that the one we called?”

“Yes,” Jungwoo said, pulling Ten to his side. “Ten, may I introduce you to the royal crown prince?”

The words alone sent shivers down Ten’s spine.

“It’s Gongmyung.” The other man paused, before winking at Ten. “Publicly, at least. Nice to meet you, Ten-ssi.”

“Crown prince!” Jungwoo chided.

“Ah, I meant... Ten?” Gongmyung made to correct himself. “Better?”

“Anything but the first.” Jungwoo furrowed his brow at Gongmyung. “-ssi implies you’re on the same level.”

“Well, not so long ago, we would have been on the same level!” Gongmyung brushed it off casually. “Anyhow. We have business to attend to, right?”

Ten cleared his throat for the first time, caught the attention of Gongmyung and Jungwoo both.

“Ah. Right. I forgot we haven’t explained to him yet.”

“Explained?” Ten said. “Explained what?”

“We didn’t actually give the name of the brother you’d be seeing tonight.” Jungwoo took Ten by the hand, before loosening his grip and leading him down another hall into a small, secluded area. Despite the smallness, people were packed from wall to wall, music playing beyond loud.

Ten marveled over the room they walked in, gaping at the chandeliers decorating the tops of the ceiling, to the gambling tables strewn across the room. At the bars, full of people, the latest baseball tournament had started, loud chatter filling the smoke-filled room.

The room even reeked of expensive colognes and perfumes, cigarettes and cigars and hookah more expensive than anything Ten could afford. Jungwoo and Gongmyung still led the way across the room, Gongmyung stopping and waving Jungwoo forward while he chatted with a group of people. Ten squeezed past them, and finally found Jungwoo pulling a red sheer curtain away from a small cordoned off room.

Ten ducked inside first, flickering his gaze up when he and Jungwoo came to find Jung Jaehyun, the second crown prince, seated at a table, surrounded by a few others around him sucking on cigarettes and blowing out puffs of smoke. Jaehyun didn’t bother sitting up, didn’t even raise his head to ask as to who it was Jungwoo had brought.

Instead, another young boy came up, bright eyed, grinning.

“Who’s this?” he said, clearly informal.

Jungwoo hesitated. “It’s... y’know.”

“Oh! The one we called!”

“Shut  _up,_ Yukhei,” Jungwoo said, voice a little harsh.

Another voice joined the fray. “What  _is_ it?”

Jungwoo and Yukhei both straightened up at the sound of Jaehyun’s voice. Ten took a moment to process it, before realizing it was Jaehyun speaking. He wasn’t sure if the moment to bow his head had passed or not, so Ten just stood there, flickering his gaze to Jaehyun, who was sitting up now, moving to stand. Yukhei panicked, running over to his side, while Jungwoo nervously wiped the flats of his palms on his pants before gesturing towards Ten.

“It was in your highness’ best interests that we called in the aid of....” Jungwoo swallowed hard. “This escort.”

“The aid  _of?”_ Jaehyun shot back, walking past Yukhei and heading towards Jungwoo and Ten. “A prostitute?”

The word still shot an arrow through Ten’s chest with ache, even though it shouldn’t have, because it was just a word, and the negative connotation it carried with it shouldn’t have mattered to him anyways. Still, Ten unknowingly clenched his jaw, tried to keep himself together while Jungwoo reeled Jaehyun back in.

“I didn’t ask for anything like this.”

“The queen....”

“My mother insisted on this?”

Jungwoo flushed red at the implication, rubbing the back of his neck and taking a deep breath. It was then that Yukhei jumped in, between Jungwoo and Jaehyun again. Jaehyun took a step back, his expression unwavering.

“It’s just that you’ve seemed very stressed lately! The crown prince should have all available assets to keep him sated, right? This is one of them.”

Jaehyun glanced at Ten, their eyes meeting for the first time that night. Jaehyun’s eyes were bright blue, practically fluorescent under the lights of whatever room they were in. Jaehyun shook his head, blinked and looked away from Ten.

“Take him back. Pay him for the waste of his time and send him back.”

“But, sir—”

“I said take him back.”

There was a sharpness in Jaehyun’s tone that made Ten feel the goosebumps littering his neck as he shivered, but didn’t notice it in Jungwoo and Yukhei. Instead, the two seemed dejected, their expressions both falling, as Jungwoo agreed and apologized, while Yukhei joined Jaehyun at his side and followed him back out, turning to Jungwoo with an apologetic look as they did so.

Ten wasn’t quite sure what it was that came over him as Jungwoo led him back out. Jungwoo didn’t speak for most of the walk out of the room, not even as they passed the queen again, who knowingly shook her head and sighed while Jungwoo walked Ten out.

“We apologize for the crown prince. We’re unsure of what it is that’s bothering him lately. We were hoping even having the option of companionship would help, but it seems he’s... uninterested.”

Ten’s jaw was still clenched as they walked out. He relaxed once he felt the wind from outside filling the room, as Jungwoo held the door open.

But with the door wide open, Ten could see the path back home, knew the first thing Xiaojun was going to say would be about how terrible the royal family was, even though he hadn’t been there, hadn’t met Gongmyung, or even spent more than a second looking past the palace. Ten could imagine waking up the next morning, just talking about how he had the chance to be with a crown prince, but was denied. And yeah, the pay was nice, but how much nicer would it have been to be seen doing the walk of shame the next morning from the fucking royal  _palace?_

So, maybe Ten’s morals were a bit skewed. Maybe he had his head in the wrong place, but either way, it gave Ten the courage to turn on his heel and head back inside the palace. Navigating the rooms with a vague familiarity, Ten ignored Jungwoo calling after him, before entering the room Jaehyun had been in. As soon as he walked in, Jungwoo followed, panting softly.

“You can’t... bother the crown prince after he dismissed you.”

“Then I won’t bother him,” was all the response Ten gave. “Where did he go?”

“Well, he went to the balcony with Yukhei. But he doesn’t like to have others out there—!”

Ten had already started towards the stairs, not paying mind to the ache in his thighs as he walked up each and every last step, until he reached the top. Jungwoo was still behind him, panting, face red from chasing Ten. By the time they reached the top, Ten could feel a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face, and Jungwoo panting audibly beside him. No wonder Jaehyun was so slender, Ten thought, if he climbed these steps often.

Jaehyun wasn’t alone on the balcony, a few partygoers having found their way up there. But Jaehyun was most assuredly by himself, sitting on a bench on the balcony. Yukhei stood beside him, blinking in surprise when Ten swiftly walked in front of them.

Jaehyun only watched Ten walk in front of him, bow his head, before sitting down on the bench beside him, minding Jaehyun’s outstretched legs.

“Jungwoo,” Jaehyun called, as if beckoning for an explanation.

“He came of his own accord, your highness.” Jungwoo looked pointedly towards Ten. “I took him to the door, but he... slipped away from me. I didn’t realize it. Apologies.”

“And yet, he’s still here.”

“I  _am_ sitting here,” Ten managed to blurt out. Both Yukhei and Jungwoo both clamped their mouths shut, a small smile appearing on Yukhei’s as he nudged Jungwoo.

“I noticed,” was the response Jaehyun gave.

“I thought crown princes were supposed to introduce themselves properly.” Ten noticed the undeniable spark of annoyance under Jaehyun’s skin at his words. “You know, as etiquette.”

“Jung Jaehyun,  _second_ crown prince,” he said, enunciated the  _second,_ which Ten noted.

“Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul,” Ten said, catching Jaehyun’s attention. “Your plus-one of the night.”

Jaehyun scoffed at the sound of it, as if he was astounded Ten had the gall to insinuate he would be anything to Jaehyun without Jaehyun’s permission.

Yet, Jaehyun didn’t repeat himself to Jungwoo, which would have been the point Jungwoo really would have had to kick Ten out.

Instead, Jaehyun collected his things, rose from his seat, and excused himself. He gave Ten a pointed stare, something that definitely could have translated to  _don’t follow me,_ but Ten was never good at second languages anyways, so he followed Jaehyun all the way downstairs, ensuring not to step on his lavish robe that seemed way over the top even for royalty. There was no way Jaehyun  _hadn’t_ noticed Ten, what with the way Ten stumbled around the other guests, and apologized just a bit too much, and even panicked a few times when he thought he had lost Jaehyun in the crowd.

It wasn’t until after they had moved outside that Ten realized they were in the courtyard, and Jaehyun was looking for somebody.

“Can I ask who you’re looking for?” Ten said, leaning forward in an attempt to catch Jaehyun’s attention. Jaehyun blinked, unfazed, sniffling even and looking away.

“I don’t know, can you?”

 _Oh my god,_ Ten practically groaned out loud, because when was the last time he had somebody correct his grammar, let alone a client of his, albeit a client who didn’t request him directly.

 _“May I,_ your highness?”

Jaehyun shot Ten another look, which again, may have very well meant  _mind your business._

“You may, but I won’t answer.”

At this, Jaehyun managed to sneak away from Ten through a crowd of people. Jungwoo and Yukhei hadn’t managed to keep up either, leaving the three of them in a group of confusion and annoyance, at least on Ten’s part. He had clients before that were difficult, or at the very least, embarrassed by the fact that they had to call a plus-one before. Ten was used to the sometimes apparent shame that came with being seen with him every now and again, depending on who it was that requested his company, but this was beyond shame. Actually, Ten wasn’t even sure if it was shame, or if Jaehyun was really just disgusted with him.

Either way, Ten decided this was the final sign he wasn’t meant to spend any time with Jaehyun, be it as strangers or something more for the night. Perhaps he’d just get his fill on drinks and food before heading back home for the night. At least he’d get a ride in some nice palace vehicle at the end of it all, right?

“I do apologize on behalf of the young prince,” Jungwoo said, as he and Ten slowly meandered back to the front door, where Jungwoo promised he would accompany him until his ride showed up.

“I should have expected it.”

“Truly, I thought it would have gone smoother than that. For lack of a better word, you are a much needed... distraction from all that has been bothering the crown prince.”

“Out of sheer curiosity,” Ten started, turning to Jungwoo with a brow quirked, “were you raised to talk like that? Or do you do it because you work here?”

“You just catch onto it after living here for a while,” Jungwoo replied, apparently used to the question. “All the older clients walk in and address the crown princes as ‘your highness’, ‘your majesty’. Sometimes they go as far as deeming them sovereigns. It just rubs off on the family as well sometimes.”

Ten hummed, before gesturing vaguely. “So why am I a much needed distraction?”

“I mean, you heard him when he was talking to you earlier. How he said he was the  _second_ crown prince.” Jungwoo paused, checking over his shoulder once they stepped out. Only a few guests stood outside, puffing on cigarettes, casually sipping on wine glasses. Jungwoo took Ten a bit further out to the edge of the palace gates. “Apparently the queen has been paying very close attention to both crown princes— how they act, carry themselves, how they appear to outsiders.”

Ten nodded, only catching half of the drift of whatever it was Jungwoo was talking about.

“Prince Jaehyun thinks they’re not planning on splitting the estate as they had sworn to do after he had been born. He thinks his mother is choosing a proper heir to the throne, and... well, of course his suspicions lean towards prince Gongmyung receiving the estate.”

“Jungwoo!”

The sharp voice caught both Ten and Jungwoo off guard, as Jungwoo immediately straightened out and turned so quick on his heel, Ten was sure he almost fell, if not for the fence behind him.

At the top of the stairs stood Jaehyun, Gongmyung beside him, with an apologetic expression on his face.

“The queen has decided to end the gathering early. We need to have a family meeting in the compound as soon as possible,” Gongmyung explained.

Jungwoo nodded, apologized to Ten, who easily waved goodbye. His ride still hadn’t shown yet, but Ten didn’t mind even walking home after the early night he had. At least it would buy him more time to hope Xiaojun fell asleep or something like that. Then he wouldn’t have to hear complaints about the royal family until the following morning.

Ten readied himself to walk through the front gates, but stopped himself when he heard somebody clear their throat almost immediately behind him. Ten turned easily, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“My brother explained to me why he called you. Here.”

Jaehyun reached into his robe and pulled out an envelope. When Ten peered inside, it was stuffed with bills.

“There’s extra payment, as apology from the royal family for wasting your time.” Jaehyun seemed to be avoiding Ten’s gaze at all costs, but couldn’t quite look away. Ten smiled when Jaehyun finally looked at him.

“Keep it. Being invited into the royal home was a privilege in the first place.”

Jaehyun furrowed his brows, took the envelope when Ten handed it back, before squinting at Ten.

“Whatever Jungwoo was telling you is a lie.”

“How do you know what Jungwoo was telling me?”

Jaehyun huffed, already annoyed by the question. “It’s all anyone talks about. How I’m incompetent as a crown prince, how my brother is the rightful heir to the throne by birth, I’ll be written out of the family at the first chance my brother gets.”

“Do you believe what other people talk about?” Ten pressed a little. Jaehyun, either caught off guard by the question, or perhaps flustered that he had spoken too much, blushed and shook his head.

“Well— I don’t. I try not to.”

“But you’re still worried.” Ten urged Jaehyun with small pushes, the way he had learned after so many years of being an escort, learning and listening, coaxing and tempting.

“Wouldn’t any crown prince?” Jaehyun sputtered. “Wouldn’t  _you?”_

“Do you think your brother called me here to distract you?” Ten tilted his head just slightly. “To make you forget about whatever it is happening in your family?”

“I....” Jaehyun sighed. “Yes. I do.”

“I could tell,” Ten began, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. He opened a small pocket on the back of it, pulled out a card and handed it to Jaehyun. “Well, here’s my card. In case  _you_ ever feel like you need a distraction.”

Jaehyun flushed bright red as soon as he took it in hand. To soften the blow, Ten continued speaking.

“I  _do_ just like talking to people. Listening and stuff.” Ten shrugged. “If you just need company in the form of conversation, I’m fine with that.”

After a moment of silence and quiet breaths, Jaehyun nodded, taking the card and placing it in his own robe. Jaehyun managed it in him to nod his head and look back at Ten.

“Thank you.”

  


Ten decided, later that night, the walk of shame from the palace to his own place, despite Xiaojun’s cheers of  _I told you so,_ was still very much worth it, from beginning to end.

  
  
  
  


About two weeks later, Ten found himself with an invitation in his hand. Unaddressed, only with the stamp of the royal family, and two tickets inside giving him passage into the royal family’s annual gathering. Truly, Ten wasn’t quite sure what they did in those kinds of parties. He had heard they just drank and danced the nights away, but Xiaojun had said they had ballets and operas, separate areas for people with all different kinds of tastes. Ten supposed Xiaojun could be right, considering the event was being held in a different city, an hour away from their own.

Xiaojun’s initial denial of, “fuck no, I don’t want to go,” easily turned into, “it’d be a waste of a ticket if you didn’t invite somebody,” to, “how  _dare_ you think of inviting Taeyong before inviting me, you absolute piece of trash.”

So Xiaojun gathered up his nicest set of clothes, which happened to be only a button up shirt and tie, the jacket long lost, and a dark pair of jeans, which Ten clicked his tongue at, because they were actually his jeans before Xiaojun fucking  _stole_ them (and Ten had gained some muscle in his legs but that was really besides the point).

“Wait, are we just taking the bus there?” Xiaojun said. Ten shrugged.

“I have my car?”

“Your car is garbage.” Xiaojun sighed and rubbed his head. “We could call an Uber?”

Ten made a face, which earned Xiaojun griping at him, as the two walked out of their apartment complex together and came to a dead stop at the curb.

“Did you....” Ten said, staring at the black car on the curb in front of them, a man standing outside of it with his hands clasped behind his back. Xiaojun shook his head. “I didn’t call anybody.”

“That’s the royal family crest on the side.” Xiaojun marveled over the sheer shininess of the car, before looking up at the man. “Is this for us?”

“Sent by the royal family to pick up guests— your car awaits.”

Ten glanced at Xiaojun, who was easily jumping into the open door of the backseat, commenting on every feature of the car, including its own phone, WiFi, drinks, and bowls of candy in small compartments as Xiaojun snooped around. Ten slid in after him, sitting down with a quiet sigh and staring at the tickets in his hand.

“Do you know which brother invited you? Maybe I can try schmoozing the other one, that way we each get one.”

“There was no name on the envelope.” Ten turned the tickets over in his hand, hoping for maybe a sign as to who it was that had invited them. Perhaps it wasn’t either of the brothers this time, but the queen, as Jungwoo had been talking about last time.

“Whichever one it was, they’re fucking great.” Xiaojun flopped back in his seat and sighed. “You get the best clients.”

When they finally pulled up to the gates of the estate, Ten was half asleep, only waking up when Xiaojun shook him. Xiaojun had his head hanging out of the window of the car, prompting Ten to open his own and stare out, before letting his jaw drop at the sight of the building they were entering.

Whatever it was, it was fucking  _huge._ The architecture alone was enough to marvel at, if it weren’t for the lavish gardens and lakes decorating the path there and out as well. On each different level of the building, there appeared to be people, but all participating in different activities, all enjoying themselves.

“Oh my god, Ten, this is fucking crazy.”

That was putting it mildly, Ten thought, while they pulled up to the circle to drop them off. At the sight of their car, Ten noticed Yukhei and Jungwoo both scooting up, standing side by side. Jungwoo smiled and waved at Ten, where Yukhei grinned and was the first to reach for the door after Ten sat back in his seat.

“Welcome!” Yukhei was the first to excitedly greet them. Ten bowed his head at the two of them, and Xiaojun did the same, albeit distractedly.

“No need for the formalities with us,” Jungwoo reassured, a light pink blush on his cheeks as he rubbed his neck. “We’re just assistants to the family.”

“Like servants?” Xiaojun said.

“That’s a bit of an outdated term.” Jungwoo took Ten’s tickets. “I see my gift reached you appropriately.”

“Ah, it was you.”

“Don’t sound so disappointed,” Jungwoo said, hiding a smile on his face. “Rest assured, the royal family was informed you’d be attending. Gongmyung said he would have given you his spare tickets, but he had already gifted them. Yukhei and I were the only ones with tickets left.”

“The crown prince was informed?” Ten paused. “Crown prince Jaehyun?”

Jungwoo hesitated, which was all the answer Ten needed.

“We would have, but... he’s stubborn.” Jungwoo paused when Ten didn’t accept the answer at face value. “He would have skipped the event if he knew we were still trying to help him. He’s convinced there’s nothing that can be done for his stress until his mother chooses a proper heir.”

Jungwoo and Yukhei both led the way into the building, following a clear path through the crowds of people.

“Depending on your preference, there are all different kinds of activities,” Jungwoo began. “Quiet zones for conversation, or sections for more... active crowds.” The suggestive tone of Jungwoo’s voice made Xiaojun giggle. “Choose wherever you’d like to go, and should you need anything,” he pulled a device from his pocket, handed it to Xiaojun, and one to Ten, “press the home button three times, and Yukhei or I will find you.”

Xiaojun looked at Ten expectantly, waiting before Ten laughed and nodded. Xiaojun immediately disappeared into the crowds of people, finding his own pace to play at, while Ten felt Jungwoo set his hand on his shoulder.

“Unfortunately, we have different plans for you.”

Ten hummed. “Are you going to ambush Jaehyun with me?”

“Well....” Jungwoo looked at Yukhei, who giggled excitedly and grabbed Ten by his shoulders.

“We have a plan. But you just have to trust us, okay?”

Ten quirked a brow at Yukhei, then at Jungwoo, before nodding his head and following the two of them to the main hall, where the queen and crown prince Gongmyung were speaking with their guests. Music played in the hall, but not nearly as hyperactive as the others they had been in.

“Is this all the royal family does?” Ten said. When Jungwoo threw him a look over the shoulder, he continued. “Party?”

“Oh no, this is just a celebration for the royal bank and the bank of Changsha. Apparently the business talks went well, so we now have a stable foothold in China as well.” Jungwoo nudged Yukhei. “That’s where this one came from.”

“Changsha?”

“Well, not Changsha— Hong Kong,” Yukhei corrected. “But my family runs the bank in Changsha  _and_ Hong Kong.”

“And you came to serve the royal family...?”

Yukhei caught the tone in Ten’s voice, smiled and laughed. “Don’t get it twisted. It’s not that my family gave me away as a gift to the royal family or something. I came here on my own volition.” Yukhei paused. “There’s someone really important to me here.”

“Ah, it’s like that,” Ten said.

Yukhei smiled, small, before turning his attention back to Jungwoo, who was still speaking.

“Despite the festivities, there’s still to be a royal family dinner and address. Business matters.” Jungwoo turned, Yukhei and Ten following down the hall. “The entire family, sans the king will be attending, including Jaehyun, and Gongmyung.”

Ten nodded, figured it was a given the crown princes would be attending.

“However, we have managed to...  _convince_ Gongmyung’s initial date to take a break during the address.” Jungwoo straightened himself out as he slowed to a stop at a door, bringing his knuckles down on the door before pulling Yukhei by his side. “She was more than happy to join the activities instead of sitting there at a boring dinner.”

Ten didn’t go to college or graduate even in the 50% of his high school, but he knew damn well what Jungwoo was bringing up.

“You want me to be Gongmyung’s date?”

“It’s our only choice.” Jungwoo waited, before the door opened. Gongmyung sat on a loveseat in his own room, speaking softly to a couple seated comfortably across from him. One of the women crossed her legs, before they stopped and glanced at the open door. “Your highness.”

“Ten-ssi!” Gongmyung said, standing and gesturing for him to walk in the room. Ten flushed bright red at the familiarity again, still unused to the openness from a prince, let alone a prince as beautiful as Gongmyung. Ten was an escort, but he wasn’t close to an  _idiot._

“Crown prince,” Ten said as he ducked his head with a deep bow. Jungwoo and Yukhei followed Ten in, stopping at the door together. Yukhei nudged Jungwoo with his elbow, to which Jungwoo elbowed him in the side and told him to stop with a quiet laugh. He could never manage to be serious around Yukhei. “With all due respect, I... don’t understand how you think this plan will work. Jaehyun won’t be jealous if he doesn’t even like me.”

“It’s not about jealousy,” said Gongmyung, excusing his other two guests. They left without much argument, closed the door behind them. “It’s about envy.”

“Aren’t they the same?” Ten said.

“In Jaehyunie’s case, no. Jealousy isn’t quite in his vocabulary, and even then, he doesn’t get jealous of the things he already has— money, fame, power, should he be given it. I know my brother well enough.”

Gongmyung paused and clapped his hand over Ten’s shoulder, leading him to the loveseat before excusing Yukhei and Jungwoo as well. “He denied you. Through and through, he told me he had no interest in you in any way, despite the fact that he kept your card and practically threw a fit when the cleaners almost tossed it out from his robe.”

Ten couldn’t help but smile to himself at that, but quickly nodded his head.

“So, should you agree to be my date for this very tedious meeting, Jaehyun will see you. He’ll be envious.” Gongmyung tapped his finger on Ten’s chin, lifted his gaze. “He can’t be jealous of what he’s already denied. He’s a fool that way.”

“That’s your brother,” Ten remarked.

“And I love him. I really do.” Gongmyung sighed. “But he’s grown... restless lately. It’s disturbing the family, more than acceptable.”

Ten bit the inside of his cheek, before carefully speaking, choosing his words like he felt the royal family had been groomed to from a young age. Every word they said had some double meaning to it. He wondered if they had said anything useless since they were little, or if it had been knocked out of them by the time they could speak.

“Should I be offended that you’re using me as a ploy in your plan?” Ten paused. “Not to mention the fact that you’re trying to force me on Jaehyun as a distraction for him.”

“If you’re trying to say something, just say it,” Gongmyung said. Despite the seriousness of his words, he had that same, sweet smile on his face. Ten shivered.

“Is what everyone’s saying about your family true?” Ten noticed the shift over Gongmyung’s expression, how he faltered just slightly. “Is the queen truly deciding on an heir when there are two crown princes?”

Gongmyung cleared his throat, sitting back in his seat with an expression of disinterest on his face. “Those are things beyond your reach.”

Despite the gnaw of curiosity at the back of Ten’s mind, he didn’t speak the rest of the time, and neither did Gongmyung.

  


It felt like hours had passed by the time Ten and Gongmyung were being led to the main hall, the silence almost deafening. Ten’s heart thudded nervously in his chest at every step, every echo and sound of his own breathing. He was hyper aware of all the guards on his sides, the way Gongmyung carried himself. Gongmyung had instilled something like fear in him in their small dressing room earlier, when he had spoken so bluntly and told Ten to mind his business.

And another part of him felt... something. It wasn’t pity, but something along the lines of that, for Jaehyun. How his family seemed so insistent on something he didn’t want, all for their own benefit, it seemed. Although Jungwoo and Yukhei seemed to have good intentions, the queen and others must have warped it into something else for their own good. It was likely they didn’t even know what they were encouraging.

“Introducing the crown prince, Jung Donghyun, firstborn.”

That was the first time Ten had heard Gongmyung being introduced by his birth name. He supposed that it made sense, considering the other name was for social events, and this was something much bigger than that. Ten’s hands were sweating. He wondered where the hell Xiaojun was, and if it would have been better to stay with him, instead of coming along like he was wanted here.

Gongmyung led Ten to his seat, even made the grand gesture of pulling his chair out for when he had to sit down. For now, they stood, waited, as the next family member was introduced.

“Introducing the crown prince, Jung Yoonoh, secondborn.”

Ten looked up from his shoes at Jaehyun’s birth name, watched as the door to the far end of the hall opened, followed by Jaehyun, and Jaehyun alone— no guards, no friends, no followers, and certainly no date. Just himself.

But “just himself” was a fucking understatement in and of itself, as he stepped in wearing an outfit Ten could say fit only a king. From the perfect fit of his slacks, to the jacket neatly crossed over his bare chest, jewelry adorning his throat, neck, collar— all the way down to the rings that gleamed on his fingers. It wasn’t too much, just enough to show he was royalty. The belt he wore was tight around his waist, accentuated his figure. And his hair— god, his  _hair_ and the way it fell over his eyes, over the pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose. Ten wasn’t sure if they were fashion or if he needed glasses, but either way, Ten didn’t realize he let out a soft,  _“wow,”_ until Gongmyung nudged him and leaned over.

“Remember, it’s envy we’re going for. It won’t work if you’re ogling him the entire time.”

Ten knew that. Yeah, he could have been a bit more subtle about it. But how could everybody else be so casual about this when Jaehyun was walking in looking like a piece of art from a museum? Ten couldn’t imagine someone even  _making_ those clothes, and yet, there it was, and there Jaehyun was, and... Ten felt underdressed again.

When Jaehyun approached the table, awaited to sit after they had to announce a few other special guests, it took him a moment to realize it was Ten across the table from him. Ten didn’t blame him— Gongmyung had gotten a few makeup artists into the room to doll Ten up a bit, and even changed his outfit, though it didn’t fit quite as well as he’d hoped it would.

Still, Jaehyun looked Ten up and down, as if sizing him up, before parting his lips to speak. However, just as Jaehyun made to do so, the queen, his mother, began speaking, so he immediately clamped his lips shut and took his seat when given permission to. Ten did the same, but couldn’t bring himself to look at Jaehyun. Instead, he focused on his hands in his lap.

The business aspect seemed to last so mind-numbingly long, Ten wanted to cry in relief when it was done. Ten was sure even this “business meeting” was something else, that there was something more under the surface of it, and the only reason Ten was allowed to  _attend_ was because nothing said there was really all that important.

As soon as Ten was allowed to leave his seat, Gongmyung swooped in and took him off to separate groups of people, far from those Jaehyun was speaking to. Ten didn’t miss it, though— the way Jaehyun continued eyeing him from afar, staring at him and Gongmyung. And Ten was almost in awe, it was fucking  _working._ Jaehyun was staring because Ten was with Gongmyung.

Color Ten offended, to be honest. Ten was worth staring at without this side piece beside him, prince or not!

“Taeil, so nice to see you,” Gongmyung began, catching both Ten’s and this apparent stranger’s attention. Ten looked up and found a young man, probably not much older than he was, holding a drink and speaking to another man, much taller and... friendly looking? Ten couldn’t quite put his finger on it, until the taller man lifted his hand and waved at him. Royalty, business, or not, Ten hadn’t been waved to once, other than Yukhei and Jungwoo being friendly. That was nice.

“Ah, crown prince. We were just looking for your brother.”

At the mention of Jaehyun, Ten perked up.

“It seems he doesn’t intend to stick around for these types of gatherings very long,” the other man commented. “It’s a pity, because we haven’t been able to see him since the merger began.”

“He’s been a bit busy with his own activities. You know how it is for a young crown prince.” Gongmyung grinned, and this time, Ten didn’t feel the same warmth from it that he first did. Did Gongmyung ever have a negative emotion? “Johnny, your father has been with my own for political advising, correct?”

“Yeah, he’s been gone since the king left. Four months ago, now?”

“Might I ask you for something, then?” Gongmyung seemed to breeze over the conversation. “A favor, if you will?”

“Anything for the crown prince,” Johnny said, though the comment seemed to be shrouded in something else. Politics. Ten fucking hated them. Nothing was ever straightforward.

“Considering your father is a political advisor for my own, and the queen has been urging both my brother and I to get a headstart on the business ourselves, I’m seeking your own counsel.”

“M-my counsel?” Johnny stuttered. “As a political advisor?”

“I take it your father’s been raising you to do the same.”

“Of course. I’ve always wanted to follow in my father’s steps, but....” Johnny appeared uneasy. Ten could sense it from him. In the back of his mind, Ten wished he could say something to appease the situation, but this was way out of his league, and for lack of a better term, Ten truly was just a pretty thing on Gongmyung’s arm at the moment.

“But? There’s something keeping you from saying yes?”

“There is,” another voice cut in, followed by somebody pressing between Ten and Gongmyung. Ten didn’t miss the sharpness of his eyes, how he glanced so quickly at Ten, he wasn’t even sure if he had seen him or not. Ten stepped aside, quickly bowed.

“Crown prince,” Ten said, mostly in awe. Jaehyun looked at him, before turning to Gongmyung.

“Youngho’s  _my_ political advisor.”

“Oh,” Gongmyung said, the word so plain.

“In fact, he promised it years ago, before father was proper king.” Jaehyun turned to Johnny with a soft smile on his face. Johnny visibly relaxed— that was the first time Ten had seen anybody do that with Jaehyun. “It’d be a sin to break the promise now, after all this time.”

“I see,” Gongmyung commented. Jaehyun seemed to take control of the situation with an ease that threw off even Ten.

“Hyung, mother is looking for you to speak business on father’s behalf.”

Gongmyung cocked his head. “Why didn’t she ask you?”

The question seemed to be a blow towards Jaehyun, but not enough to make him fumble.

“Mother said it’d be a simple enough task for you to handle, even with a few drinks under your belt,” Jaehyun replied.

Gongmyung feigned a sad goodbye, left Johnny, Taeil, Jaehyun, and Ten. Taeil and Johnny both sighed in relief, while Jaehyun’s expression fell. He turned to Ten first, before his own friends.

“I thought you said my family called you for  _me?”_

Ten blushed. “You said you didn’t want my help, crown prince.”

“Is that what my brother told you?” Jaehyun said. When Ten nodded, Jaehyun clicked his tongue. “I took your card.”

“And?” Ten shot back. “It’s been two weeks, you haven’t called. I had to get invites from the royal assistants before you even  _asked—”_ Ten paused. “You didn’t even know I was going to be here tonight.”

Jaehyun stuttered in embarrassment. “W-well! The invites were sent out months ago! How was I supposed to know you’d be attending?”

“You didn’t even have a date by your side,” Ten said. “Where did your invites go?”

“Yeah, Jaehyunie, where  _did_ your invites go?” Johnny said, as he took a drink of whatever frilly drink was in his hand. Ten waited, noted the pet name from Johnny. Must have been a privilege of being childhood friends.

“I... threw them away,” mumbled Jaehyun, sniffing and turning his head up.

“Always the lone one,” Taeil commented.

“That doesn’t answer my question or explain why you’re here, why you’re  _with him,_ of everybody to be with.”

Ten pressed his lips together in a thin line, close to getting annoyed with Jaehyun, but not enough to completely lose sight of his goal here. Despite being invited by the assistants, and then being coerced by the first crown prince, Ten  _did_ actually want to spend time with Jaehyun. Even if nothing came of it, he just wanted to learn a bit more about the prince nobody seemed to know about.

“I’ll give you an answer,” Ten said, “in exchange for a dance?”

“I don’t dance in the other rooms, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Ten smiled. “Fortunately for you, I know how to waltz. You  _do_ know how to waltz, don’t you, crown prince?”

“Oooh,” Johnny said, earning a quick punch to his shoulder from Jaehyun. It seemed so childish and sudden, it reminded Ten of how young Jaehyun was, how young  _Ten_ was— how they all were, seemingly, in over their heads for their age and whatever it was they had gotten themselves into.

Jaehyun took Ten’s hand without thinking, led him towards the middle of the room, which had already begun clearing as the queen announced the orchestra. Ten and Jaehyun both bowed to one another, Ten with a smile on his lips, and Jaehyun, trying to appear as relaxed as he could.

“You lead,” Ten instructed. Jaehyun sputtered through a word, before nodding and snaking his arm around, to the small of Ten’s back. Ten set his own on Jaehyun’s shoulder. “Do it comfortably.”

“I hardly know you,” Jaehyun replied, just as the music started.

“Then do it like you know me.”

At this, Ten felt himself being pulled into Jaehyun’s chest, just a bit closer, so Ten’s jacket nearly touched Jaehyun’s much more expensive one.

It had been a couple years since Ten had learned how to waltz with Taeyong during a last ditch resort back in The Day to try getting more cultured. It was right when the royal family was coming to power, Ten knew that much, and there was a sudden shift in their society, to appear more professional, more proper. Ten didn’t know  _why_ considering he thought most of the members of the royal family weren’t even so uptight (though now his opinion would be very different).

So the first few steps, Ten stumbled, and Jaehyun made it very obvious as he rolled his eyes that he was used to waltzing like he had learned it before walking, even. Ten caught on, eventually, after taking a breath in and finally synchronizing with Jaehyun.

“Better,” Jaehyun said, mostly to himself, but with the closeness, Ten heard it. “I’d like my questions answered now.”

“Which were?”

“Why were you with my brother if you said my family called you to help me?”

It wasn’t until Ten caught the undertone of suspicion in Jaehyun’s voice that Ten realized Jaehyun thought they were trying to get Ten close to him— to get him weak, vulnerable. Like Gongmyung was using him just for leverage against Jaehyun.

“It wasn’t by choice, crown prince.” Ten felt Jaehyun turn him with an ease— Ten let him move him without hesitation, just a slight breath knocked from his chest before he caught it and looked back at Jaehyun. “And truth be told, when the invites arrived at my house, I was hoping they were from you.”

“Yes, you mentioned my assistants were the ones to send them. Jungwoo and Yukhei?”

“Yeah, those two,” Ten replied. “My turn for a question.”

“That wasn’t the deal,” sighed Jaehyun, “but go ahead.”

“Did you really throw a fit when your cleaner tried to toss out my card?”

Jaehyun flushed bright red, thrown off by the question. “Who told you that?”

“Answer my question first.”

“I didn’t throw a fit. I didn’t  _throw_ anything.” Jaehyun looked away from Ten, but still followed the steps of the waltz easily. “I wanted your card... for business.”

“What business would you have with an escort other than to fuck them?” Ten said, caught off guard by his own crudeness. Despite the embarrassed expression on Jaehyun’s face, Ten still waited for an answer. “Your brother was the one to tell me, by the way.”

“Of course he was.” Jaehyun looked at Ten, before humming. “I don’t understand why my family is so insistent on having you around.”

“Beats me,” Ten replied. “I know  _you_ don’t want me around because you think I’m a distraction.”

“I don’t know what I think you are,” Jaehyun admitted. “My family wants you around for some reason, but... well, no offense, but you really don’t seem like the type to be a spy.”

“No offense taken, I don’t think I’d be very good spy material either.”

“So, who  _are_ you?” Jaehyun pressed. Ten paused, brows furrowed as he contemplated his answer. What kind of answer could he even give? Ten didn’t have any tricks up his sleeve, no secret as to who he was or what he wanted. He was just... Ten. An escort, who so happened upon the royal family by chance or some weird turn of fate— he wasn’t sure. Either way, Ten wasn’t trying to do anything devious or sly. He didn’t think those words were even in his vocabulary.

“I’m just... an escort, your highness.”

Jaehyun didn’t respond to Ten’s meek voice. They just continued dancing until the song was over. Jaehyun easily pulled away from Ten, bowed to him again, before turning on his heel, and leaving.

  


Despite Ten’s best attempts to follow Jaehyun at first, he had managed to lose him easily, seemed that the crown prince (obviously) knew his way around better than Ten did. So Ten settled for staying in the royal meeting room, seated with a drink in his hand, as he watched the others dance so easily.

Somebody sat down on the other side of the table, quiet, before clearing their throat and clapping a hand down on Ten’s shoulder. Ten squawked and jumped in surprise, looked over his shoulder suddenly.

“Don’t take it personally— Jaehyunie is easy to lose when he doesn’t want to be found.”

It was Johnny, the other man he had seen earlier. He smiled easily, in a way that felt honest, so Ten couldn’t help but relax a bit after seeing his smile.

“It seems to run in the family,” Ten breathed out.

“You learn fast, for an outsider,” said Johnny. “You’re the one Jaehyun mentioned. The escort, right?”

Ten nodded easily, hyper focused on the fact that Jaehyun had been talking about him to somebody else.

“You’ve been the crown prince’s friend since childhood?”

“Fortunately for me, unfortunately for him, yes. He hasn’t been able to get rid of me.”

“Would you mind... if I asked you something, then?”

“Go ahead,” Johnny said, before taking a sip of his own drink.

“We just met not too long ago.... And honestly, I don’t have any fucking idea why his family called me into this whole situation.” Ten paused, chewed on his bottom lip as the words came and left with fleeting thoughts. “I don’t know Jaehyun that well, but if I were given the chance to, I would want to know him better. Does that make sense?”

Johnny nodded easily.

“But... he doesn’t seem interested.” Ten furrowed his brows. “Is there any way I can get him to trust me? Even just... a little?”

“Considering his family brought you into the situation in the first place, I don’t think that’ll be easy.” Johnny swirled his drink before swallowing down the last of it and sighing. “The second crown prince just has some barriers up that reasonably keep people at a safe distance. Even the first crown prince has them— they’re just much more subtle. Jaehyun never did well with subtlety.”

Ten didn’t mind that so much. He could work on barriers. He could even work with Jaehyun not sharing anything with him at all. The issue came into play when Ten thought about after this party, how he’d have to go home, and Jaehyun would still be stubborn and difficult, wouldn’t call him back even if Ten willed it a thousand times and then some. Jaehyun wasn’t making it very easy for anybody to help him.

“Also, considering this is one of the last royal gatherings besides small events, I doubt there will be another party like this for a while. You should take advantage of it.” Johnny patted Ten’s shoulder. “Find Jaehyun and bug him some more. If he hasn’t already kicked you off property, you’re probably fine.”

“Even if there was some way to find him, this party is huge,” Ten remarked.

“Rest assured, where the crown princes go, disaster typically follows.”

Just as Johnny finished setting his drink down on a passing waiter’s tray, Ten heard a loud rush of people from the room beside theirs, before gasps and shouts, followed by silence.

“Would you look at that— disaster,” Johnny commented, before following Ten to the room beside and shoving their way past the crowd to get to the front.

Johnny managed to clear a way for the both of them eventually, as they found nobody else but the crown prince, and somebody else; a stranger, someone Ten didn’t recognize, standing across from him, with a bottle in his hand.

“Crown prince,” Jungwoo had managed to wriggle through the crowd himself, Yukhei following close behind.

Jaehyun was hunched over just slightly, his hand over the temple of his head. With a quiet click of his tongue, he pulled his hand away from his temple, and revealed the blood pouring from a cut. The blood matted his hair, messied his white undershirt, while Jungwoo gasped and threw his own hand over the spot.

“Get security,” Jungwoo ordered Yukhei, but the two were stopped when Jaehyun set his bloodied hand on Yukhei’s arm, barely gave him a glance before taking a step forward.

“Don’t bother,” Jaehyun spoke, his voice loud enough for the crowd to hear him. Ten ignored the way his hair stood up on his arms, how goosebumps littered his shoulders and the back of his neck at the way Jaehyun held himself together, despite the very real wound. “I’m sure our guest will escort himself out. He was just leaving, wasn’t he?”

“Crown prince, he assaulted you,” Jungwoo hissed.

“Take him outside, then.” Jaehyun pulled his hand from his forehead again, staring at the blood in the palm of his hand. “But don’t let some lowlife ruin the party for everybody else.”

With Jaehyun’s words, Yukhei grabbed the stranger’s arm with one hand, and Jungwoo grabbed the other, the two lifting him and carrying him out, albeit kicking and screaming, thrashing in their hold. Jaehyun turned to the partygoers, put on a small smile, and told them to go about their business, as he excused himself.

Ten wasn’t sure which part of himself it was that willed him to run from his spot after Jaehyun, Johnny not even able to get through the crowd.

Ten slipped past the door to a long hallway, his breaths loud. Jaehyun heard him, threw a look over his shoulder before stopping and furrowing his brows.

“Why are you following me?”

“You’re... you’re hurt,” said Ten, as if it was the most obvious of answers. Jaehyun rolled his eyes, didn’t give Ten a chance to explain anything else, before storming down the hall.

“I thought you were just an escort,” he shot back, turning a corner quick, faster than Ten had processed. Ten ran down the hall, trying to keep up with Jaehyun’s voice.

“That doesn’t mean I’m not worried!”

“What is it you can do that anybody else hasn’t already offered?” Jaehyun’s voice sounded more distant, as Ten picked up the pace.

“Is that all that matters to you, crown prince? What I can offer?”

“If it will answer why my family is so insistent on using you to distract me, then yes, it is all that matters to me.”

The words hit a nerve in Ten.  _“Using you.”_ It was ugly and rude, made Ten a bit angry as he finally caught up to Jaehyun, who was slowing to a stop, before jiggling a door handle and stepping inside. He left the door open, leading into a bathroom, where he stopped to look at himself in the mirror. Blood trickled down the side of his face, to the slope of his jawline, where he thumbed at a drop and washed it away after flicking the sink on.

Ten finally caught up to Jaehyun, panting soft as he stood in the doorway.

“You said it yourself, Ten. What is it I would call you for, other than for  _fucking?”_

The crudeness of the word sent a chill down Ten’s spine. Ten didn’t realize his jaw was clenched until he relaxed it to speak.

“I have my own free will, you know,” Ten said, voice sharp. “I could’ve said no to every single invitation. I heard from everybody that the royal family was nothing more than a bunch of spoiled brats with too much time and money on their hands.”

“I could have you arrested for slander.”

“Go ahead, have me arrested,” Ten said, before finally cornering Jaehyun, sitting him down on a bench against the wall of the bathroom, and swinging open a cabinet above him, searching for anything to help clean up the cut at his temple. “You can do it after I help you clean up this cut.”

When Ten finally found a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some gauze and cotton balls, Jaehyun had settled back, hunched over, as he held his hand to the side of his head and finally moved his hand away from his temple when Ten told him to do so. Jaehyun hissed through his teeth when Ten rubbed the cotton ball over the cut, clenched his jaw and jerked away as he lifted his hand back up.

“It’s not going to get clean if you keep rubbing your hand over it, dummy,” Ten said. Jaehyun frowned, but dropped his hand once more.

“I didn’t  _ask_ you to help me,” he grumbled. Ten scoffed.

“Do you only receive what you ask for, crown prince?” Ten paused, before continuing, “don’t answer that. I don’t need to know.”

Jaehyun stared down at his hands as Ten managed to clean away most of the thick drops of blood, cotton ball after cotton ball, before finally managing to get a piece of gauze over it.

“It’s kinda deep. You might need stitches,” Ten said. Jaehyun tensed without realizing it. “Have you ever had stitches?”

“No,” Jaehyun answered almost instantly. “I probably won’t need stitches, right? It’s just a cut. A surface wound.”

“I’m not a medical professional, so I wouldn’t know for sure,” said Ten, “but whoever that guy was, he seemed pretty pissed off at you. He was probably going for something this deep.”  _Or deeper,_ Ten left out. “Don’t you have some royal doctor that can come and see you? That way you don’t have to go out and be with us commoners in the hospital?”

“It’s not that,” Jaehyun said, sounding particularly offended.

“Yeah, well, ‘scuse me for not sounding as sensitive as I should,” Ten huffed. With a petulant pout, he looked away, grabbed the bloodied cotton balls from the sink and tossed them in the trash. “You’ve been a real asshole to me since we started talking.”

Jaehyun deflated. “I know.”

Of course, as soon as Jaehyun sounded remotely apologetic, Ten felt bad for shaming him, even though Ten wasn’t wrong— Jaehyun had been nothing more than a royal asshole to him ever since he had first set eyes on Ten. Ten, who didn’t even care about getting involved in this family in the first place— Ten, who was very happy going about his escort business without having to deal with some weird backhanded compliments from politicos he didn’t give two shits about.

Yeah, Ten didn’t deserve most of the garbage treatment he was getting from them, but that didn’t mean he had to return the favor.

“Your stylists did really amazing on your outfit tonight,” Ten began, his voice soft, laced with a sigh, as he dabbed another piece of gauze over the wound. “Too bad there’s blood on it now.”

“It’s going to sit in my closet either way, so it doesn’t really matter.”

“Well... you still really look like a prince.” Ten blushed in embarrassment at his lack of eloquence, how the words tumbled out of him awkwardly and uncomfortably. Jaehyun carried himself with such an ease, Ten was envious. Of course, it probably came from years of grooming, living with other people who talked the way he did, while Ten spent his free time speaking half-English half-Korean, misunderstanding Thai from Xiaojun whenever Xiaojun grumbled in the language, probably about Ten himself.

Ten cleaned up the mess they had made, tossing out the empty packages of gauze and screwing the alcohol cap back on before opening the cabinet and arranging everything as it was. Jaehyun didn’t make any moves to leave, or even stand up. He just sat there, staring at his hands, frowning. Just as Ten thought to ask something, Jaehyun cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry.”

Ten was so caught off guard, he turned and faced Jaehyun, quirked a brow in surprise.

“My family were the ones insistent on having you... assist me, yes,” said Jaehyun, “but I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t look forward to seeing you tonight.”

Ten perked up. “You knew I was going to show up?”

“Yukhei hasn’t been able to keep a secret since I met him.” Jaehyun smiled, let out a soft laugh.

“Then, you knew I was going to be here, and you didn’t have me kicked out.”

“I’m stubborn, but I’m not a fool,” replied Jaehyun. “Just answer a question for me.”

“Sure.”

“Are you....” Jaehyun trailed off, as if he didn’t have the words, for the first time since Ten met him. Jaehyun gestured vaguely with his hands, tried to come up with whatever it was he wanted to say, but gave up with a quiet sigh and set his hands down on his lap. “Are you even attracted to me?”

It was Ten’s turn to blush again, caught off guard by the question, before humming and leaning against the wall behind him.

“If you’re asking whether I’m attracted to you or the title you carry, it’s most definitely you.”

Jaehyun nodded, standing up and straightening his outfit out, despite the fact that his jacket was dirty with blood.

Ten followed Jaehyun out of the bathroom, the two ambling along the hallway together, the sound of partygoers mostly blocked out by the walls and distance between them.

Jaehyun never told Ten to leave him alone, so Ten didn’t. Instead, they rejoined the party, the two side by side, Ten not speaking much other than to Xiaojun when Xiaojun managed to drunkenly find his way back to Ten’s side, and once to Gongmyung, who appeared a bit caught off guard when he found Jaehyun held onto Ten’s arm, and pulled him away before Gongmyung was done speaking to him.

At the end of the night, Jaehyun escorted Ten to a car he called for him and Xiaojun, and hesitated before lifting Ten’s hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

  


Ten woke up the next morning to Xiaojun violently throwing up in the bathroom, head pressed against the toilet seat, despite Ten’s protests of how unsanitary it was. In the end, Ten held a towel out to Xiaojun, set it under his cheek, while Xiaojun mumbled a quiet thanks and rested his head on the toilet seat again.

After pouring himself a bowl of cereal, sitting down on the couch, and turning the TV on while trying to ignore his full schedule later in the evening, Ten managed to turn it to the news, which was usually the last thing he would watch in his free time— except now, an image of the royal family flickered across the screen. Panicked, Ten went back to the news channel, waited for whatever it was to pop back up on screen, before finally listening to the report.

“It appears as though, in a public press conference with the two heirs to the royal family power, Jung Jaehyun, the second heir, has declared himself as the true and only heir to the throne, bypassing the eldest crown prince, Jung Gongmyung. This caught both officials and his own family off guard, who have decided not to comment on the issue.”

At this, Ten dropped his spoon back in his bowl, jaw dropped. His phone buzzed from beside him, without giving him even a second to think of anything else.

 **Unknown number:**    
Clear your schedule tomorrow. - KDY   
**(8:32am)**

  
  
  
  


Jaehyun wasn’t quite sure what else to expect when he found himself waiting outside of Ten’s apartment complex after Ten sent him the address, Jungwoo in the driver’s side and Yukhei in the passenger’s seat, the two quietly chattering to themselves while Jaehyun only managed to catch bits and pieces in his half-distracted state of mind.

The message he sent to Ten the day before was pretty... blunt. That was putting it mildly, at least, Jaehyun thought, before swallowing down his hesitation and sending another one to Ten, simply letting him know that they were outside. In any other situation, this would have been much more formal. Jaehyun would have sent a car, with an  _actual_ driver from the royal family, and Jaehyun would have met Ten at the restaurant they were going to. But it  _wasn’t_ normal, and Jaehyun was lucky enough to bribe the right family driver to snag a car without him mentioning it to the others.

The “read” tag came up only a moment after Jaehyun sent Ten the message, sitting back in his seat and waiting.

“Do you want me to grab the door for him, crown prince?” Yukhei offered. Jaehyun shook his head. “How’s he supposed to know which car is ours, then?”

“We’re still in a royal vehicle. He’ll know which one it is.”

“Maybe you should go stand out there.”

“Why would I do that?” Jaehyun said, sounding absolutely affronted by the idea.

“I don’t know.... It’s romantic, isn’t it?” Jungwoo said. Yukhei nodded.

“Very romantic.”

“Won’t that draw attention to the car?” Jaehyun paused, furrowing his brows. “And he’s an escort anyways, he won’t read into it anymore than this being an appointment.”

“A dick appointment,” Jungwoo said, before slapping his hands over his mouth, Yukhei already guffawing and throwing his head back. “My apologies, crown prince.”

Jaehyun sighed, not angry with Jungwoo. After all, Jungwoo was still just barely a 19 year old, and Yukhei was only 18 years old, which explained their childlike demeanors. And to be honest, Jaehyun probably would’ve laughed too if it weren’t him they were joking about.

“Fine, I’ll wait outside for him. Anything to get me out of this car.”

In all honesty, it wasn’t any better outside than it was inside. Jaehyun felt so unbelievably awkward. Like, what was he supposed to do? Look at his hands? His phone? His shoes? Should he wait for Ten with a smile, or just pretend he didn’t care, and wasn’t anxious out of his fucking  _mind_ waiting outside of the car?

And why was he overthinking this anyways? Not that Jaehyun didn’t think Ten was worth it, because he was, as shown by Jaehyun’s embarrassing need to keep him around and talk to him and generally lean on him when Jaehyun didn’t like doing that in the first place, but... well, he hardly knew him. That was a big part of it. Jaehyun wanted to know Ten, and it was  _killing_ him.

“Crown prince!” Yukhei said, Jaehyun jumping at the sound of his voice, but immediately looking up from his blank spot on the floor and seeing Ten walking out of the apartment complex. At the door, Ten cleaned off his shirt, took a deep breath, and started down the sidewalk, trying to appear as casual as he could. Jaehyun swallowed hard, shoulders tense.

Ten slowed to a stop in front of Jaehyun. The cast of Ten’s lashes over his cheeks made Jaehyun pause, his voice stuck in his throat. How many eloquence classes were just flushed down the toilet, Jaehyun wondered, before finally managing to give Ten a half smile. Ten nodded his head.

“Jaehyun-ssi.”

In any other setting, it may have been disrespectful. Jaehyun could have had the nerve to be angry, or upset, or even insulted that Ten would imply they were anything close to being on equal speaking terms.

But as Jaehyun had ranted about earlier to Jungwoo and Yukhei— this was  _not_ normal. It wasn’t crown prince Jaehyun and random escort Ten out together in public to make impressions or even an image together. Ten wasn’t dressed particularly fancy, and to be honest, even though Jaehyun matched him in the outfit, he felt severely underdressed. The flats of his palms were warm and clammy, his mouth dry— fuck, Jaehyun was so  _nervous,_ he couldn’t stand it.

And the way his name rolled so easily out of Ten’s mouth, his lips curved around every letter, how Jaehyun hoped Ten savored the sweetness of every letter the way Jaehyun did when he said Ten’s name earlier.

No, this wasn’t normal, and Jaehyun appreciated it. Every fiber of his being enjoyed and reveled in the casualty of it all.

“Ten,” Jaehyun said with a slight bow of his head.

It took a moment for Jaehyun to realize he had to open the door for Ten, which he did after hearing Ten hold back a quiet laugh. He followed Ten into the car, as Ten greeted Jungwoo and Yukhei both. Their conversation was short, not nearly long enough for Jaehyun to gather his thoughts.

“So?” Ten said, as he turned to face Jaehyun. Jaehyun didn’t say anything. “Did you have any plans for today, or did you tell me to clear my schedule for fun?”

Jaehyun flushed bright red at the statement, but bit his tongue and nodded his head.

“Uhm, I found a few places for lunch,” Jaehyun said, stuttering without realizing it until after the fact. “And I... was hoping you’d have opinions on things to do as well. Since I did pull you away from your schedule.”

“Truth be told, I don’t particularly mind.” Ten shrugged. “I’m sure my clients do, though, so don’t make a habit of asking so suddenly. Lunch is first, then?” Jaehyun nodded. “Great! I’m starving. Are Jungwoo and Yukhei joining us?”

“No, they’ll be on their own while we’re out.”

“Having their own lunch?” Ten said, a brow quirked as Yukhei turned to Ten, cheeks furiously red, as he weakly slapped at Ten’s knee. Jungwoo seemed perfectly unbothered, simply smiling.

“Lunch does sound nice, Xuxi.”

“I don’t have any money right now....” Yukhei said. Jungwoo hummed.

“I’ll pay, it’s fine.”

From there, the conversation picked up, even as Jungwoo started the car, and Jaehyun nervously kept his tongue in his cheek, as if knowing he’d say something to screw up the entire trip for all of them.

  


Things had gone... considerably well. For the most part. Jaehyun thought it did? He wasn’t entirely sure. But Ten was still there with him, so it couldn’t have been all that bad.

They had separated from Yukhei and Jungwoo early on after lunch, which they did share. Yukhei and Ten managed to start up conversation. Jungwoo was more than happy to listen, nodding along and smiling when Yukhei glanced at him for reactions every few minutes, the way a puppy would for reassurance. Jaehyun was far too awkward to do anything other than smile and laugh along.

From there, Ten and Jaehyun ambled along together, in a small mall, while Jaehyun did his best to appear subtle and hidden away. He kept a mask over his face, and lowered his gaze whenever walking past others. Ten couldn’t help but laugh when they walked past the food courts and found them playing a loud clip of Jaehyun claiming himself as the rightful heir to the throne.

Ten didn’t ask much other than an occasional question, and Jaehyun couldn’t bring himself to do much more than make offhand comments here and there. Overall, the conversation was stilted, awkward even, but it was fine. By the time evening came, Jaehyun was starving for dinner, and Ten was more than willing to accompany him.

“I don’t actually know a lot of places for dinner here,” Jaehyun admitted shyly. Ten hummed, pursing his lips.

“I think I know a place close by, if you wanted to try just walking there?”

Jaehyun nodded with a shrug, followed Ten down the sidewalk. Ten kept his hands in his pockets, which Jaehyun was painfully aware of, because his own hands were sweaty and warm, as he wiped them on the backs of his pants and tried to appear as casual as he could while doing so.

Jaehyun made sure, on the way there, to miss every crack in the sidewalk, and even made an effort to knock on the wood wall as they made their way into the restaurant for dinner. Far be it from his luck for something to go wrong right at the end of the night.

  


“How’s your stitches?” Ten said in the middle of their meal. It was kinda sudden, considering they had gone without conversation for the most part. Even their waitress looked uncomfortable when she took their orders and left. Jaehyun looked up from his bowl, a piece of meat lodged between his teeth as he tried to pull a piece off, before finally chewing it up and swallowing hard.

“You were right.”

“I figured.”

Jaehyun eyed Ten carefully, before finally speaking.

“They didn’t hurt as bad as I thought they would. But I did lose a lot of blood that night, so I was really tired the next day.”

“And the person that attacked you?” Ten was tracing his finger across the lip of the glass in front of him, seemingly uninterested in eating anything. The more Jaehyun noticed how little food Ten touched and the questioning tone of his voice, the more Jaehyun realized how cornered he was in this restaurant. Alone, without Jungwoo or Yukhei to take him from a conversation or situation he didn’t want. It was just him and Ten, some stranger brought into the issue at hand by his mother and brother.

“What about him?” Jaehyun replied.

“What happened to him?” Ten pressed without hesitation, as if he knew Jaehyun would give him that sort of answer.

“I.... Well, I don’t know. I’m assuming he was jailed.”

Ten hummed, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

“What?” Jaehyun said. Ten shrugged and shook his head. “You can’t ask me questions like that and then just pretend like you weren’t curious.”

Ten didn’t seem to respond. He just sat there for a second more, before finally clearing his throat and leaning forward, just a touch.

“I know the royal family is a lot more dangerous than at first glance.” Ten paused, flickered his gaze up to Jaehyun to gauge his reaction. “Your brother has let on about it a few times.”

“My brother is an  _idiot,”_ Jaehyun huffed.

“I just want to know what I’m getting myself involved in,” continued Ten.  _“Who_ I’m getting involved  _with.”_

Jaehyun furrowed his brows, ready to snap at Ten for not making sense, when Ten spoke again.

“My name is Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul. I’m 20 years old, and I’m an escort by choice.”

Jaehyun flushed pink at the embarrassment rushing through his chest, at the idea that Ten would have meant anything other than getting to know him, which was  _reasonable,_ considering Jaehyun knew nearly nothing about Ten. God, did he feel like such a dick now, as Ten looked at him expectantly.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being an escort, clearly,” Ten said, “but this isn’t what I want to do, even though the money is nice. When I was little, I wanted to be a pilot, but nowadays, I think being a translator would be cool. I’d like to learn more about the place I live in, and show other people that stuff, too.” Ten looked down at his hands. “To be honest, before this, I didn’t know much about the royal family. Like, for the most part, I didn’t give a shit about you guys? No offense.”

Jaehyun snorted out a laugh, and Ten smiled gently towards him. Jaehyun ignored the way his chest tightened so suddenly.

“Besides escorting, I’ve kissed... three people.” Ten shook his head. “Wait, no, two.”

“This is such a weird way to get to know someone,” Jaehyun finally interjected. Ten laughed.

“I was hoping you’d interrupt me sooner.”

They both giggled quietly, Jaehyun nervous beyond all belief.

“I want to get to know you, crown prince,” Ten said, cocking his head to the side to catch Jaehyun’s attention again. “But you won’t talk to me about normal things to do that.”

“I haven’t had to get to know anybody in a long time,” Jaehyun admitted. “What do you want to know?”

“You can just list off stuff you think of, like I did just now. That’s fine.”

Despite the suggestion, Jaehyun didn’t make any moves to talk. Ten didn’t look annoyed, but he didn’t seem very happy either.

“Why did you declare yourself the proper crown prince?”

“That’s... not your business,” Jaehyun said warningly.

“You can’t chide me for asking when you’re not offering anything else.”

“That isn’t your business,” he repeated, this time with more force. Despite it, Ten didn’t look affected by Jaehyun’s demeanor.

“Your family pulled me into this situation without my permission in the first place,” Ten started. “And now you invited me— no, actually, you  _ordered_ me out here with you, and you’re doing the exact same thing to me. Why do you keep pulling me into a problem I didn’t want to be a part of anyway?” Ten huffed. “Do you trust me or not?”

“I don’t know,” Jaehyun said, sudden and loud. “I just know that I’m trying to figure it out, too. Why my family called you, a-and why they expect you to help me with this kind of thing at all.” Jaehyun trailed off, “I don’t know if I should trust you.”

“And that’s why you invited me out.” Ten pushed himself out of his seat, irritated. “I knew it. You’re not any better than your brother.”

The words stung a lot more than Jaehyun expected them to, especially from a stranger, or at least someone he convinced himself was a stranger. Ten threw some money down on the tabletop, nearly started out of the restaurant without him. If Jaehyun hadn’t darted his hand out for Ten’s wrist, he probably would have lost him. Ten jerked back, looked down at his wrist, before meeting Jaehyun’s gaze.

“Please.”

The tone in Jaehyun’s voice made him sound disgustingly desperate. Ten faltered, nearly pulled his hand away from Jaehyun again, but instead, softened. He sighed.

“Don’t leave.”

Ten didn’t say anything. He just made to sit down in his seat again, after Jaehyun did. This time, Ten didn’t trigger the conversation. After a moment of silence, Jaehyun started it.

“My real name is Jung Yoonoh, but... I like it when people call me Jaehyun.” He paused and wet his lips. “I’m 21 years old. When I was little, I wanted to be a prince.” Jaehyun sighed and leaned back in his seat.

Ten didn’t say anything still, but it didn’t seem like Jaehyun needed the prompting.

“These days, I don’t want anybody to recognize me by my face anymore.”

Jaehyun parted his lips to say something, but it seemed the words weren’t there. No matter how hard he furrowed his brows or bit the inside of his cheek, Jaehyun couldn’t will the words to be there.

Finally, just as Ten had supposed it was the end of the conversation, Jaehyun spoke softly.

“Haven’t you ever done something just because it was expected of you?”

“Is that all you consider being a prince is?” Ten paused and caught Jaehyun’s attention. “Doing things because people expect it from you?”

Jaehyun furrowed his brows. “A part of me doesn’t want to believe that. I want to think that people care about me, but they don’t. I know they don’t unless it has to do with some scandal or royal family feud.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “But if I didn’t declare myself proper crown prince, people would think I don’t care about the throne. I can’t have them thinking that. But now that I’ve declared it, Gongmyung won’t even acknowledge me in passing. It’s all very political, even just sitting at our dinner table.”

For lack of a better thing to say, Ten frowned and said, “that’s stupid.”

“That’s the royal family.”

“If you don’t want it, why go after the throne? Do something that makes you happy, prince.”

Jaehyun gave a quick smile, looked down in embarrassment or shame, Ten couldn’t tell.

“It’s ironic, because nothing makes me quite as happy as hearing someone call me ‘prince’.”

Ten sat back in his seat just as the waitress brought their second round of food out, quick and only asking if they needed more to drink before taking her leave. Jaehyun immediately grabbed his bowl, bowing his head down once and then plowing into it with a renewed hunger. Ten snorted out a laugh.

“You’re complicated.”

Jaehyun hummed, bit down short on the mouthful of noodles in his mouth before swallowing them down. Leave it to the prince to remember his manners, even when he said he wanted to be treated normally.

“I  _am_ complicated.... Though, I don’t mind it when you call me ‘Jaehyun’.”

Ten wasn’t sure what it was about Jaehyun that made him smile and blush, before taking to his own food, but he thought, maybe, it was all of him.

  


When Jaehyun and Ten reconvened with Jungwoo and Yukhei, Ten found the other two were a little more disheveled than they had left them. Yukhei had zero shame in leaving his shirt unbuttoned, and maybe showing his collarbones, which were red with blooming marks on them.

“Ready to head home, crown prince?”

“Yes,” Jaehyun said easily. They loaded into the car, Yukhei driving this time, with a bit of coaxing from Jungwoo. Jaehyun didn’t seem to mind, so Ten relaxed in the backseat and leaned his head against the glass of the car.

The ride was mostly silent, sound for Jungwoo occasionally saying something to Yukhei when Yukhei was white knuckling the steering wheel, or maybe when he almost missed a stop sign, because he was too busy looking at Jungwoo from the corner of his eye. Ten stifled a laugh more than a few times when Yukhei flushed furious red as Jungwoo set his hand on the back of his neck and rubbed his thumb down his nape.

“Let me,” Jaehyun said, as they pulled to a stop at Ten’s apartment complex. Yukhei relaxed with an audible sigh, leaning back against his seat, while Jaehyun slipped out of the car.

“Very subtle,” Ten commented, to which Yukhei immediately shot a glance back at him.

“It doesn’t seem anything has changed between you and the crown prince,” Yukhei said, to which Jungwoo pinched his ear and immediately scolded him while Yukhei hissed through his teeth. “Ouch, ouch, ouch!”

“There’s no need to be rude!” Jungwoo said, cheeks pink. “He didn’t mean it, Ten.”

“It’s fine,” Ten said, as he turned to see Jaehyun opening his door for him. “How chivalrous of you.”

“Yeah, well,” Jaehyun started, debating whether or not to shoot something snarky back at Ten, “I just wanted you out of my car.”

“You should be privileged to have had my ass sitting in the same car as yours,” Ten said with a small laugh. Oh,  _score,_ Jaehyun thought, stifling a pleased hum in exchange for keeping up his barely-princely act up.

It wasn’t as romantic as all the movies made it out to seem, Jaehyun noted, as he walked Ten to the door of his apartment complex, while Ten held it open and let Jaehyun walk in first. After all, it was usually a walk to the front door of a home that made it cliche, involved a little less awkward tension in the elevator side by side, and more so quiet banter between two of them.

“You can’t come into the apartment,” Ten said, as they walked out of the elevator. “My roommate is home, and he doesn’t really care for the royal family.”

That bore the question of, if Ten’s roommate wasn’t home, would he have invited Jaehyun in, even though Jungwoo and Yukhei were very obviously waiting in the car to take him home? Jaehyun blushed at the thought, which made Ten laugh, albeit mostly to himself.

“Did you have a good time?” Jaehyun asked. Ten nodded.

“Even though you’re conversationally constipated, I did have a good time.”

“Constipated— I’ll have you know I took eloquence classes from the ages of five to eighteen!” Jaehyun flushed red in embarrassment. Ten giggled, thoroughly enjoying the reactions he managed to pull from Jaehyun so easily, without even really needing to say anything. Jaehyun fumed, slowed to a stop when Ten gestured towards his apartment door and twirled the tip of his toe against the floor in the smallest, most nervous gesture Jaehyun had seen him give off.

“Give me some heads up next time you want to spend time together,” Ten said. “A couple days, at least.”

“Right,” said Jaehyun, biting his cheek. The escorting thing. He had forgotten all about it, about what Ten did for income. It wasn’t a bad thing, and Jaehyun had nothing against it. It just slipped the mind that Ten did technically see Jaehyun as one of his clients, nothing more. That was why he gave Jaehyun his card, and why his family had gotten in touch with him in the first place.

“You know,” Ten started, catching Jaehyun’s attention by leaning forward just a bit, “it’s really easy to tell when you’re overthinking something stupid,” he paused, once Jaehyun made eye contact with him, “Jaehyun.”

In the movies, there was always a build up. A long awaited moment where it would have felt right for Jaehyun to step forward, set his hand on the side of Ten’s neck the way he did. Except it wasn’t movies, as he had established, and nothing went the way they should have gone, because Jaehyun’s hands were fucking sweaty, and Ten flinched when Jaehyun set his hand down.

“Do you not want me to—”

“No,” Ten started, which made Jaehyun panic for a moment, jerk his hand back like he had dunked it in a pot of boiling water. “No, I mean, I  _do_ want you to, I just wasn’t expecting....”

Despite the explanation, Jaehyun hesitated in touching Ten again, afraid of the fact that Ten was lying to placate him, like Ten didn’t really want this as much as he did. But Ten didn’t rush him. Maybe Ten was just as nervous as Jaehyun was, if the way his hand was trembling against his shoulder was any indication of the fact.

Ten closed the gap when Jaehyun couldn’t bring himself to, either glued to his spot, or still admiring Ten, the curve of his lips, the softness of his eyes— even his subtle imperfections, like small pockmarks on his skin or a small scar on his cheek that Jaehyun only noticed under just the right lighting. In any other situation, or maybe with any other person, Jaehyun would have noticed the shitty hall lighting, how it did just about no favors for Ten’s features, but he didn’t care, couldn’t care when he felt Ten sigh against his lips and relax, eyes fluttering shut.

It was only after a moment of kissing Ten that Jaehyun realized Ten’s lips were bitten, pink— from  _nerves,_ Ten was  _nervous._ Fuck, as stupid as it sounded, it made Jaehyun’s tension slip from his shoulders, let him hold Ten all the more comfortably, as he slipped his arm around Ten’s waist and let the other rest on his cheek.

“Let me be the one simple thing in your complicated life, prince,” Ten managed between soft pants of breath, Jaehyun kissing the air out of him at every chance he got.

“Isn’t it a bit of a reach to call yourself simple?” Jaehyun said, smiling against Ten’s lips. “You’re probably the most complicated person I’ve met in a long while.” Ten pinched Jaehyun’s side, savored the quiet whimper that escaped Jaehyun at the pinch.

“I want to be somebody good for you, hyung,” Ten said, pleasantly surprised when Jaehyun shivered at the name. “Let me.”

“If I say yes, will you stay with me?”

“Not tonight,” Ten said, pulling away and feeling Jaehyun trail kisses down his jawline. Their height being near the same was either a blessing or a curse, Ten hadn’t been able to decide yet.

When Ten finally got ahold of himself (see: after Jaehyun bit down on his neck and Ten felt alarmingly turned on for standing in the middle of his apartment complex hall), he noticed the red plumpness of Jaehyun’s lips, swollen with a shine coming off his bottom lip.

“Fuck, okay, you have to go before I really do let you stay,” Ten said, shoving Jaehyun off as Jaehyun laughed and fixed his own shirt to look normal.

They both flinched in surprise when the door to the apartment swung open, Xiaojun standing in the doorway with a bag of garbage in hand. He looked at Ten, frowned, and then looked at Jaehyun, before grimacing.

“Ugh,” he said, moving past Ten and heading down the hall in his boxers and slippers to toss something out.

“That’s, er, my roommate,” Ten said. Already, he could feel his face heating up.

“I remember him from the last party.” Jaehyun easily returned his attention to Ten. “Well... thank you.”

“For what?” Ten laughed. “Kissing you?”

“I was going to say for giving me a chance.” Jaehyun stumbled over his words, clearly caught off guard. “When you didn’t leave earlier....”

“Of course,” Ten said easily. “But... it shouldn’t take that much for you to talk to me. You know that, right?” Jaehyun nodded. “I want to be somebody you can trust.”

“I want to trust you,” Jaehyun agreed a beat after. Ten hummed, pleased, before pulling Jaehyun in for one more short kiss, all softness and lips lingering just a moment longer, like Ten was savoring it while Jaehyun felt his bottom lip trembling, desperately biting back his need to kiss Ten more, as much as he could.

“Better make sure Yukhei didn’t crash the car.” Ten grinned when Jaehyun pulled away with a defeated sigh.

“I would say that’s impossible, but knowing Yukhei, he could find a way to crash a parked car....”

Jaehyun turned on his heel, looking over his shoulder every now and again to the elevator. Ten stood there, arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the door, before Jaehyun finally gave in.

“I’ll see you soon?” he called out, couldn’t help sounding a bit helpless. Fucking Ten. This was ridiculous.

“See you soon,” Ten placated Jaehyun with those three words, jiggled the door open and waited for Xiaojun, who was walking down the hall, now sans a garbage bag, but fully glaring at Jaehyun down the hallway. Jaehyun managed to straighten himself out long enough to manage a nod at Xiaojun, though he wasn’t sure why he bothered with it when Xiaojun just turned his nose up and walked in the apartment without another word.

When Jaehyun finally reached the bottom floor and the car waiting outside, he found Yukhei and Jungwoo both staring at him from the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat, respectively, even as he opened the door and threw himself in his seat with a loud sigh. Jungwoo shamelessly turned around in his seat, peered his eyes over the edge at Jaehyun.

“Whatever it is you both want to ask, just get it over with,” Jaehyun said.

“Are his lips as soft as you dreamt about in your diary?” Yukhei managed first, Jungwoo and him erupting into laughter while Jaehyun sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Why he ever agreed to having these two jerks as his assistants, he would never know.

“Seriously, was the kiss good?” Jungwoo pressed. Jaehyun furrowed his brows.

“I don’t see either of you eagerly spilling details about your dirty laundry.”

“Well—” Jungwoo began, as Jaehyun flushed red and sputtered suddenly.

“And I didn’t ask,  _either!”_

  
  
  
  


Jaehyun woke up every morning at 5am.

This wasn’t a voluntary action, but rather one ingrained in him since he could remember to read time. It was always  _the early bird catches the worm!_ but Jaehyun didn’t quite feel like that statement held true when the early bird was always beat out by another early bird. There was never really an end to the cycle when Jaehyun was constantly behind Gongmyung in time, effort, action,  _everything._

Jaehyun would shower, prepare his clothes, and get ready for the day by 6:30. He had a short half hour to relax in bed if he wanted, but he didn’t usually take advantage of. At 7am, he would show up to the family breakfast table, which consisted of his mother, Gongmyung, any visiting relatives, himself, and of course, Yukhei, and Jungwoo.

That morning was nothing different. Jaehyun trudged out of bed, readied himself, and was out for breakfast by 7am, as expected of him. He bumped into Jungwoo halfway down the hall, where they made small conversation until they reached the dining room.

“No Yukhei today?”

“He said he’s got a cold,” Jungwoo said, sounding particularly distant about the issue. Normally, Jungwoo had some kind of readable expression, but now he said it with a vagueness, almost like he didn’t care, or if he did care, it wasn’t showing.

“Well, then he’ll get the pleasure of not joining us for the very exciting family breakfast about to follow.”

“Crown prince?” Jungwoo said, asking for clarification. Jaehyun sighed.

“My mother will be announcing who will accompany her on the next few social trips, as honorary crown prince.” Jaehyun sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Gongmyung has always been honorary crown prince.”

“Why should you not get an equal chance to prove yourself as honorary crown prince?”

“Gongmyung has traits that I don’t have.... Ones that work in his favor when it comes to these things.”

Jaehyun seemed resigned to that fact, an expression that irritated Jungwoo for a moment, as he frowned and shook his head. But instead of speaking, Jungwoo simply sighed, bit his tongue, and straightened himself out as they approached the dining room hall. Jungwoo stepped ahead of Jaehyun to open the door for him, a habit that Jaehyun wasn’t particularly fond of, but still thanked Jungwoo for nevertheless.

Gongmyung was already seated, waiting for their mother, who had yet to appear. Jaehyun flickered his gaze at the clock in the corner of the room. It was seven on the dot. This was unusual for their mother.

“She’s late,” Jaehyun announced as he pulled his seat out. Jungwoo sat on the far end of the table, accommodating himself without Yukhei beside him, the way they usually were. “Have you heard from her?”

“It’s only been a minute, Jaehyunie,” Gongmyung teased, sitting back unceremoniously and slouching his posture. “She’s probably in no rush to let one of us down.”

“You’ve always been chosen as honorary crown prince, I’m sure she won’t break that tradition for anything.” Jaehyun wasn’t sure if he sounded bitter or resigned to that fact— whether or not he had the energy to hate Gongmyung for it when it wasn’t necessarily his fault. “Ever since we were little.”

“Maybe today will be your day,” said Gongmyung.

“Maybe pigs will fly today, too.”

He knew his attitude was sour, Jaehyun thought, as he glanced at the clock again. Five minutes past normal time now. Jaehyun couldn’t remember the last time he and Gongmyung had a brotherly conversation, or even anything beyond formalities— a nod of the head in passing in the hallways, or jabs at one another in heated political discussion while their father laughed at them both, considered it nothing more than sibling rivalry.

“Remember when you broke your arm trying to sneak out of the house when you were sixteen?”

The question came out of nowhere, made Gongmyung start in his seat as he looked up from his hands.

“You told mom you heard someone in the backyard, and you were going to check it out?” Jaehyun continued, stifled a laugh behind his hand as he grinned. Gongmyung caught himself smiling as well, embarrassed at the memory. “What a bad lie.... You really couldn’t think of anything else to say?”

“To be honest, I almost did consider telling her I was going out to a party at that point.” Gongmyung paused and rubbed the back of his neck. “My arm hurt so bad, and she was just standing over me demanding to know why I was sneaking out that way. I almost admitted it.”

Jaehyun giggled a bit at this.

“Why’d you bring that up?”

“I dunno,” Jaehyun said. “Sometimes I remember that stuff. Before we started taking all this stuff so seriously? It was a lot different, then.”

“That’s....” Gongmyung trailed off, unsure of what to say. He nodded after a moment. “I think about it sometimes, too. Remember your first fight at school?”

“You mean the one that got us homeschooled for the rest of our careers?” Jaehyun flushed red, frowned. “That kid deserved it! You didn’t hear the stuff he was saying about the family.”

“You know what made that story so much better? The fact that you were crying when mom sent the drivers to pick you up from the office. Like you couldn’t believe the fact that  _you_ were the one that got into a fight.”

Jaehyun parted his lips to speak after laughing, remembered the tightness of his chest as he feared what his parents would ground him for after getting in a fight— when the door to the dining room hall swung open. Jaehyun and Gongmyung immediately hopped to their feet, straightened out, but found it wasn’t their mother walking in. No, at the door, was one of their mother’s assistants, Jung Yerim, with a note in her hands. She handed it over to Jungwoo, who stood at the end, cleared his throat, and read from the paper.

_“As ruling queen, it is my duty to choose an honorary crown prince to accompany me, and represent the royal family during these social meetings. However, the tension between our heirs can be felt whenever the two are in the same room together for more than a few minutes. It’s alarming._

_As a mother, it is my duty to ensure the royal family stays together— because I love this family more than any title matters in my life._

_Gongmyung, Jaehyun; neither of you have been chosen as honorary crown prince for the following month of gatherings. I will represent the family alone. I would like the following month to be a chance for the two of you to reconcile your differences. This will also be an ample opportunity for you both to represent the royal family at home. Should you have any large announcements or projects you would like to present, please do so now._

_You are family before you are heirs to the throne. Please remember that.”_

Jungwoo set the paper down on the table, as Gongmyung and Jaehyun both scrambled to read it, Gongmyung getting ahold of it first, before tossing it down and Jaehyun finally managed to get a chance at reading it for himself.

“I can’t believe her.” Gongmyung sounded particularly surprised. Jaehyun didn’t have anything to say, simply folded the note and handed it back to Yerim, as she took her leave. Jungwoo looked at Jaehyun for a reaction, but found nothing particularly telling. “She doesn’t want to have a complicit hand in choosing the heir, so she does  _this,_ of all things.”

Gongmyung turned to Jaehyun, as if expecting a reaction. When Jaehyun didn’t say anything, Gongmyung opened his mouth to speak, but Jaehyun didn’t care for it. He was already starting towards the door, one foot in front of the other, while Jungwoo followed, apologize to Gongmyung, and closed the door behind him.

  
  
  
  


It took Jaehyun nearly a week and a half to work up the courage to call Ten, which was to say that Jaehyun had called Ten at least once a day over the course of a week and half, heard the phone ring once, and promptly hung up. For some reason, he felt odd about calling Ten after his mother had dropped such a bombshell on him and Gongmyung, so he held off as much as he could. But after working with a few charities and starting a new project he was sure would pan out in his and the public’s favor, Jaehyun didn’t feel that same panic as he called Ten and asked if he had a free day coming up.

(Jaehyun ignored the way his chest tightened when he heard Ten talk about his other clients, how he had cleared up a day for himself, but promised Jaehyun it was okay to see him instead. How other people had been able to see Ten the way Jaehyun wanted to see Ten, and he wasn’t sure if that was right or not.)

Their last date was casual, no glitz and glamour, nothing Jaehyun set up, but this time, Jaehyun  _wanted_ it to be that way. He told Ten to dress up, bought a new blazer and stood in the mirror as his stylist decorated it with the family pins and brooches. He wondered if Ten was just sitting at home, waiting to throw on a suit and rush out of the door, if Jaehyun was the only one putting in this much effort and detail on something so trivial as a date. It brought on that tightness in the chest, where Jaehyun wondered if this was just another appointment to him, or if Ten cared— if he meant what he said last time.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to be recognized in public anymore,” Ten said with a quiet snort, as he found the car door held open for him.

Jaehyun swallowed hard at the sight of Ten in a white button-up shirt, no jacket or blazer, and slacks. A small necklace adorned his neck, and he had even gone as far as popping in a pair of earrings, as he slid into the seat beside Jaehyun. Jungwoo and Yukhei weren’t accompanying them this time, considering Jaehyun didn’t need the mini panic attacks the two induced when they talked about Ten in front of him.

“There  _are_ perks to being crown prince.”

“No, I really couldn’t tell,” Ten replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, as Jaehyun jabbed his side and earned a quiet laugh. “I couldn’t find the jacket that went with this suit, so I’m without one for now.”

Jaehyun didn’t miss the way Ten eyed his blazer, lifted his hand from his side as the car started towards the restaurant Jaehyun had picked out, and traced his fingertips over the shapes and outlines of the buttons and brooches on Jaehyun’s chest.

“Family crests?”

“Some of them,” Jaehyun admitted. “Some are from the charities we’ve started. A few are medals.”

“Fancy,” Ten commented.

Jaehyun let Ten leave his hand on his chest, touching and poking at the pins and badges while the car slowed to a stop eventually. Ten slipped out of the car without waiting for somebody to open the door, something that made Jaehyun giggle as he followed suit and nodded at the driver.

The entrance to the restaurant was a winding path decorated with flowers, and in front of Ten and Jaehyun, a gorgeous flower arch, vines of flowers hanging off the top and tickling the tops of their heads as they walked through. Ten let out a soft  _wow,_ that Jaehyun only caught in passing as he grinned.

“The royal family has other ventures besides political and social gatherings.” Jaehyun led the way, slow. “Gongmyung pursues acting, and my father was a soldier before he became the king. My mother previously was a seamstress.”

“And you, crown prince?” Ten said, taking the obvious bait Jaehyun laid out for him.

“I dabble in cooking.” Jaehyun hummed. “But considering cooking isn’t a particularly pressing hobby of mine, I opened a restaurant instead.”

“Did you really?” Ten said, interest sincerely piqued.

“It’s under a pseudonym, because I didn’t need it to get interest for being a royal family restaurant.”

Suddenly, or perhaps only suddenly to Jaehyun, Ten reached out, laced their fingers together. Jaehyun took a sharp intake of breath, looked down at their hands.

“Okay?” Ten said. Jaehyun nodded after a moment, took a deep breath in and nodded once more, as if trying to convince himself that this was okay— that this  _situation_ was okay. “So... this is your restaurant, then?”

“It is,” Jaehyun said, stuttering nervously. Ten didn’t point it out, but smiled gently, as they started down the path towards the restaurant again. “Even my brother doesn’t know about it.”

“And you’re showing me?” Ten said.

“Of course.”

Ten didn’t press on it any more than he already had, could feel the warmth radiating off of Jaehyun as he led the way up the path, held the door for him, and held Ten’s hand on the way in as well.

  


Jaehyun was sure Ten mentioned being a drinker before, or maybe he was just imagining himself having heard that before, but either way, despite the bottle of wine Jaehyun had ordered, Ten hadn’t touched a drop of it, and... well, Jaehyun couldn’t bring himself to drink it either, despite knowing how much it cost and knowing it was a very,  _very_ good wine.

No, they went through the night entirely sober, Ten leaning back in his seat and eyeing Jaehyun up and down like Jaehyun was more appetizing than the meal in front of him. Jaehyun couldn’t count on one hand how many times he had flushed bright red that night when he caught Ten staring, and not just staring, but really  _staring_ at him.

When Jaehyun paid the bill and they started outside, Jaehyun felt Ten grab him by his waist, turn him around once they had turned the corner from the entrance, and pull him close. Jaehyun crowded Ten against the wall, felt Ten’s breath against his bottom lip for a split second before kissing him, sudden— hard, but not enough to make it seem rough. Ten pulled away for a breath, parted his lips, and let Jaehyun sweep his tongue across his bottom lip with a quiet huff of breath.

“Did you think about the kiss after you left?”

 _Last time,_ Jaehyun had to remind himself, because his brain was swimming in a hazy pool of thoughts. He was lucky he could remember what Ten was talking about.

“I thought about  _you,”_ Jaehyun said, made Ten grin and pull him in for another kiss.

Ten felt Jaehyun press his knee between his legs, the pressure only enough to make Ten’s gut twist in anticipation, but not nearly enough for him to moan, his mouth falling open and drinking in the way Jaehyun breathed against his lips.

Jaehyun was sure he and Ten had exchanged some words, maybe something along the lines of heading home? Like, he was sure they had, considering they were at Jaehyun’s home, his own separate  _home,_ like with a front doorstep welcome mat and everything. Ten would have commented on it if Jaehyun hadn’t pulled him in by his collar and kissed all his thoughts out of him. Another time, he thought, before biting down on Jaehyun’s bottom lip and savoring the quiet breath Jaehyun let slip between awkward stumbled half steps down the hall.

There was a moment when Jaehyun pulled away from their frenzied kisses. He didn’t seem unsure more than he did concerned, and it took Ten a moment to realize what  _for,_ until Jaehyun was speaking.

“Are you okay with this?”

A red blush bloomed on the apples of Ten’s cheeks at the question, not because he was embarrassed, and second thoughts were the furthest things from his mind. He was just flattered, at the sheer consideration, at the way Jaehyun pulled away and asked him, because Ten didn’t have to tell him first, like he usually did with his clients. He had to remind himself of that. With his clients, he had to remind them, but this wasn’t a client. Jaehyun was a fucking  _prince,_ and he was begging permission, giving Ten the chance to say no, as if he hadn’t had ample opportunity in the car, outside the restaurant, outside Jaehyun’s home.

“Yes. Yes,  _please,”_ Ten whispered, his hands already tangled in Jaehyun’s dark hair, pulling him into another kiss and letting their teeth click before biting down on Jaehyun’s bottom lip  _again._

Despite the regality in even Jaehyun’s home, Ten was astounded at how comfortable he felt, how absolutely at home he was being surrounded by Jaehyun all at once. His scent, his body, his warmth, the art on the wall— it felt right.

They had never been together, so the rush to feel connected was there; that inevitable missing piece between them every time they split apart for more than a few seconds of air, teenagers in love so desperate to be together, in a way. It was innocent, almost, as Ten scrambled to his feet after lying Jaehyun down on his bed, tried his best to take his clothes off with  _some_ form of seduction, even though he just ended up letting out an ugly snort of a laugh when he couldn’t unbutton his cufflinks, and Jaehyun had to sit up and help him.

Ten was quick to straddle Jaehyun’s legs, sitting down on his hips with a soft sigh that made the situation less tense than it really was. Jaehyun still had his blazer over his chest, which Ten was more than eager to sweep his hands under after unbuttoning it, loving the warmth of his body and reveling in the quiet noise Jaehyun let out.

“Crown prince.” Ten leaned in, breathed against the shell of Jaehyun’s ear. The sound of it rolling off of Ten’s tongue, laced with lust and want and  _need,_ it was too much. Still, Jaehyun managed at least a half-snarky response.

“Did you forget my name is Jaehyun?”

Ten scoffed, pulled away long enough to undo the top buttons on Jaehyun’s undershirt as well.

“Don’t you want me to  _serve_ you, crown prince?”

If it were any other person saying it, in any other situation, Jaehyun may have had room to be offended, but the way Ten looked down at him, like he was  _hungry,_ made Jaehyun shiver in anticipation. Ten must have felt the way Jaehyun tightened his grip on his waist, how he pulled him just close enough to grind against him, needy in his movements.

But there was something in how hesitant Jaehyun was, from moving to take his blazer and undershirt completely off, to kissing Ten with a tenderness that Ten didn’t mind, but certainly wasn’t expecting from him, especially after all the other times Jaehyun had been painfully attractive when he asserted his authority. Ten  _liked_ that— no, he loved it, and Jaehyun was... hiding it. For whatever reason.

Knowingly, Ten leaned forward on Jaehyun’s thighs, pushed him back against the bed just enough for Jaehyun to have to sit himself up by his elbows. Their lips were inches apart, Jaehyun’s breath bated and steady, like he had to remind himself to relax with Ten this close to him.

“Are you a virgin, crown prince?”

It was a taunt in every sense of the word. The devilish grin following the question should have given it away, but Jaehyun was too busy furrowing his brows at the question, eyes still fluttered shut as he expected Ten to lean in and kiss him.

“Of course not,” he said. He wanted to continue with what an odd question that was for Ten to ask, until Ten continued speaking.

“Are you sure? You’re acting like you’ve never had someone in your lap like this.” For effect, or just to be an ass, Ten moved to grind his hips down against Jaehyun, earning a surprised moan from Jaehyun as his eyes shot open. “Sound like you’ve never had someone sitting on your dick before.”

“Ten,” said Jaehyun. The tone in his voice carried a warning in the undertow.

“There’s no shame if you are,” Ten teased further, moving his fingers to the top of Jaehyun’s pants and curling his fingers underneath them. “I can teach you. I’m pretty experienced, both ways.”

Jaehyun said it before: he didn’t mind Ten’s career. He didn’t mind knowing about it, but hearing Ten even mention it right now made him clench his jaw, grip on Ten’s hips going tense as Ten taunted and played and  _teased_ whatever it was he wanted from Jaehyun out of him. It was a dangerous game to play— after all, Jaehyun could have gotten angry, pushed him off of him and told him to go home, so Ten was careful in which buttons to press, gauging Jaehyun’s reactions as he went.

“I said I’m not.”

“Well, I don’t believe you.” Ten played coy, but hardly had the chance to continue his teasing. Jaehyun had grabbed him harsh by his hips, flipped their positions so Ten was falling against the bed, pinned under the sheer authority of Jaehyun. Jaehyun’s dark hair cascaded over his eyes, made it hard for Ten to see, but could  _feel_ his gaze inching down his body, as he breathed out hard.

Ten was the first person to complain about Jaehyun being a man of so few words. After all, their first few encounters had been botched by Jaehyun’s absolute lack of conversation, and only just recently did Jaehyun begin to feel comfortable enough to confide in Ten, trust he wasn’t going to turn around and betray him, the way he felt most would if he let them in too quickly.

But Jaehyun’s intimidating silence during sex was another case, Ten learned, as he whimpered in the back of his chest, Jaehyun asserting his dominance within the first five minutes of being in the bedroom. It made Ten’s hair stand on his arms, goosebumps prickling his skin when he felt Jaehyun duck down to bite at the crook of his neck, breath so fucking  _feverish_ against him. And Jaehyun’s teeth were sharp, such a welcome sting to Ten. He could feel the blood rushing through his body, pulse hard and loud in his ears.

The kiss following Ten’s taunting and teasing was harsh, all teeth and tongue, spit pooling at the corners of Ten’s lips while Jaehyun sucked on his tongue and angled his kisses just right to slip his tongue into Ten’s mouth. Ten moaned against him, body writhing on the bed, hands searching for purchase on Jaehyun’s shoulders and raking down his body. Jaehyun hissed at the scrape of Ten’s nails on his skin.

“Was that it?” Ten said, his voice low, delicate with desire. “Throw me down on the bed and that’s it?”

“You talk too  _much.”_ Jaehyun punctuated his sentence with another bite, this time at Ten’s collarbone, as if trying to mark him up. Ten laced his fingers in Jaehyun’s hair, tugged on it just hard enough to elicit a moan from him, the first of many for the night. Ten whined at the threat of being bitten again, pulling on Jaehyun’s hair, begging. If he talked too much, he wanted Jaehyun to know just from his touches.

“You don’t talk enough,” Ten shot back. For a moment, he felt like he had managed a clever response, but Jaehyun was quick to the draw.

“You wanna hear me talk about what I’m gonna do to you?”

The pure seduction in Jaehyun’s voice sent chills down Ten’s spine, shivering and shuddering over a moan as Jaehyun grabbed Ten’s hands by the wrists, pinned them both down beside his head. With the way Ten’s hair fanned out on the pillow and the full body blush spreading down to the points of his shoulders and the slopes of his collarbones, he looked like the image of debauchery, lips all swollen from kissing and biting. All Jaehyun could imagine was how cute Ten’s stomach would look with his cum all over it.

“How I’m gonna mark you up all over? From your lips to your chest to your thighs, biting you, kissing you and making you  _mine?”_

Possessiveness wasn’t something Ten thought would ever turn him on, but hearing it from Jaehyun, a crown prince, like he was  _unattainable_ and Jaehyun had to have him— it drove him crazy, jaw going slack and moans leaving him so shamelessly, as Jaehyun slid his hand down Ten’s soft stomach, to the band of his pants, and then palming him. Ten was already half hard, a casualty of being young, and horny like 90% of the time.

“Fuck,  _yes,”_ Ten whimpered.

“Fuck you so good, you’ll forget anybody else.” Jaehyun moved to grind his hips into Ten’s own, Ten rutting into him and whining again. Jaehyun smiled. “You’re loud. I love that.”

But even his own eagerness caught him off guard, as Ten blushed and buried his face in the space of Jaehyun’s neck. He helplessly tried lifting his hips from the bed, wanted to get some sort of friction, but got nothing, as he felt Jaehyun’s weight pinning him to the bed even more than before.

When they pulled away, Jaehyun bumped his nose against Ten’s own, smiled wide. The constant jumping back and forth, from dominance to laughter and ease made Ten dizzy, but he couldn’t complain— he loved seeing Jaehyun like this. Every part of him thrived off of every touch of his skin, every sweep of his breath. This close, Ten felt like he could count Jaehyun’s lashes, but all he wanted to do was kiss him, so he did.

Ten grinned into the kiss, only stopped when he felt the breath knocked from his chest as Jaehyun tugged his hips off the bed by the loops of his pants. He could feel the way Jaehyun was half hard against him, just from kissing him, from kissing  _Ten._ Jaehyun moved his hands from the loops of Ten’s pants, to the button at the top of them, unzipping his fly and helping Ten slide them off in an all too eager rush. Ten felt severely underdressed now. Even though Jaehyun had his undershirt and blazer off, his pants were still on, and he still looked  _regal—_ Ten was sure he was the image of hot mess underneath him.

And that was enough to motivate Ten to flip them over once more. Jaehyun let out a noise of surprise, as he bounced down against the bed. Ten made quick work of getting rid of Jaehyun’s pants, found he wasn’t wearing anything underneath, probably the most scandalous thing he had seen Jaehyun do, besides discovering his filthy mouth earlier.

“You ever had a blow job?” Ten said, all too blunt and sudden. Jaehyun practically choked on his spit. His face turned red, mumbling a quiet, “no,” while Ten grinned. “Good. I wanted to be your first for  _something.”_

Ten started with a kiss. He made sure to graze his teeth against Jaehyun’s bottom lip, hoping his mouth was as swollen as Ten’s was when they were finished. Jaehyun huffed, jaw going slack, as if begging through the action alone. Ten didn’t want to rush it, though; took his sweet time pressing warm, lingering kisses at the crook of Jaehyun’s neck, the taste of salt and sweat on his skin making Ten want more.

Kissing his way down Jaehyun’s body, Ten made sure to lave his tongue over Jaehyun’s nipples, just enough to draw strained groans from his lips. It sounded like Jaehyun never had this either, and that made every single second worth it to Ten. Jaehyun’s body was smooth, a few scars here and there Ten would have to ask about when he had more time to study him, but later, later— now he was hungry, bit down on the curve of Jaehyun’s hip bone and relished in the hiss he tore from Jaehyun’s lips.

Jaehyun pushed himself up on his elbows when Ten reached his thighs. His kisses were warm, left scorching trails on his skin. When Ten looked back up at Jaehyun, the authority in his gaze was enough to make Ten nearly melt under his gaze. Jaehyun didn’t say anything, just waited patiently, as Ten wrapped his fingers around Jaehyun’s cock and gave him a teasing touch, base to tip, with a smile on his lips.

Ten pressed a kiss to the tip of Jaehyun’s cock, felt Jaehyun shiver underneath him. God, he loved that reaction. It never failed him, Ten thought, as he looked at Jaehyun, made eye contact, took only the head of his cock into his mouth. Even as Ten teased Jaehyun, licking stripes up the side of his cock, or pressing warm, wet kisses into the soft part of his thigh, Jaehyun took long, bated breaths. With the way his thighs trembled, Ten could tell Jaehyun would break soon.

But for now, it was fun to tease. When they started, Jaehyun was half hard, but now the head of his cock was a blushing shade of red, and precum trickled past the slit of his cock. Jaehyun whined after Ten pressed another kiss to his dick, clearly frustrated.

“F-fuck.” The first time Jaehyun had nothing better to say, and Ten was not only a witness to it: he was the  _cause_ of it. He fucking adored having Jaehyun like this. So pliant, but still dominant.

Ten figured he had been teased long enough, and finally took Jaehyun’s cock in his mouth. An unfiltered moan filled the room, Jaehyun’s muscles going lax, and tense again when Ten hollowed his cheeks around him. Ten wanted to close his eyes and focus on making this good for Jaehyun, and only Jaehyun, but... well, Ten didn’t pride himself on being selfless.

“Ten....  _Hah,_ Ten, w-wait—”

Ten pulled off of Jaehyun’s cock with a lewd  _pop!_ of his lips, wet and shiny with spit and precum.

“Did I tease too much, crown prince? Are you gonna come?”

Jaehyun was stuck between saying  _shut up_ and  _fuck yes,_ so he settled for swiping his thumb across the plumpness of Ten’s bottom lip. Ten parted his mouth easily, let Jaehyun press his thumb on the flat of his tongue, and then closing his mouth around it.

“C’mere,” Jaehyun said after a moment. Ten easily crawled back up the bed, his mouth parted still, as if the offer was still there. Jaehyun took it in the form of a kiss, tasting himself on Ten’s tongue. There was tenderness in the way Ten bit at Jaehyun’s lip, kissed down the side of his neck and nibbled there, too, but didn’t go as far as leaving marks. As much as society didn’t mind, and as much as Jaehyun wanted Ten, there was still... hesitation. Jaehyun didn’t press on it, just pulled Ten back for another kiss.

Maybe it was because of their eagerness, or maybe because there was an unspoken hesitation still, despite Jaehyun’s dirty talk, that had Ten sliding his boxers off, and then spitting into the palm of his hand as he lined his cock up against Jaehyun’s own and squeezed lightly. Jaehyun hissed through his teeth, clenched his eyes shut as Ten moaned long and low, voice trembling with the upstroke.

“F-fuck, Ten, hold on—”

“You might as well just come, crown prince,” Ten said, as he ducked down and pressed his lips to the shell of Jaehyun’s ear. Jaehyun’s hips bucked off of the bed, his muscles strung taut with the need to come. He whimpered with every squeeze of Ten’s fingers, the slick of precum from both of their cocks mixing with Ten’s spit and making the slide of skin on skin that much easier. “I want you to come, Jaehyunie.”

Just like that, Jaehyun was coming, surprised by his own obedience and whining as his cock twitched and jumped with every line that spilled from him. Ten wasn’t far behind, used the absolute filth of Jaehyun’s cum to lube up his own dick before pumping once, twice, and coming alongside Jaehyun. Every whine of overstimulation from Jaehyun matched Ten’s groans of pleasure, as they both came down from their highs and Jaehyun looked down at the mixed mess of their cum on his stomach.

“Where’s your bathroom?” Ten said. Jaehyun pointed to the opposite side of the room. When Ten returned with a warm towel to clean up their mess, Jaehyun was sure his heart skipped a stupid beat, like he was happy Ten cared enough to clean up.

(Well. Half cared. Ten  _did_ toss his towel in the general direction of the hamper, and didn’t really care if it landed or not.)

Ten crawled back into bed beside Jaehyun, pulled him in for a kiss, long and languid, like they had all the time in the world. A soft moan escaped him when Jaehyun pulled him in by his neck, trailing kisses down the sensitive spots and grazing his teeth against them, just to tease Ten that much more.

“Who knew you were good at kissing, crown prince?”

“Like it’s hard?”

Ten imitated Jaehyun with a snort of laughter, pressing his forehead against Jaehyun’s own and sighing.

“I... want to know you.”

Jaehyun blinked in surprise at that, a little taken aback. He didn’t move, though, so Ten figured that was a positive.

“Don’t you already know me?” Jaehyun said. “Is this an illusion? Do I not know Ten?”

“You know what I mean,” Ten replied. The tone was bordering between light and fun, to serious, and honestly, that’s not what Jaehyun really wanted for post-sex activity. “I know... things about you. I know the things you decide to show me.” Running his fingers through Jaehyun’s hair, Ten pulled away just a touch. “I get you in bits and pieces.”

“Ten....” Jaehyun said, a hint of a warning in the undertow. Ten didn’t let up, though.

“I have to find out about your life from the news. You refuse to talk about your family, and... well, then you don’t even have the consideration to ask about me.”

That part hurt. Jaehyun furrowed his brows and pushed himself up on his elbows, effectively shoving Ten off of him. Ten didn’t mind, just readjusted his position and settled on Jaehyun’s chest again.

“What more do I have to give?”

“You don’t  _have_ to give me anything,” Ten said. Even in his own words, there was a warning. “I’m not asking. I’m just saying that I saw more of you tonight than I ever have before.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“I’m  _saying,”_ Ten punctuated his words with a soft click of his tongue, “that I... appreciate what you do show me. I want more.”

Jaehyun, still completely missing the point, just quirked a brow.

“I want to know you, hyung. I’ll wait, but I want more.”

  
  
  
  


Despite wanting to spend the rest of the week in Jaehyun’s secluded mansion far from public eye, Ten did have work to get back to, as did Jaehyun with his obligations. He had a meeting with his father, the first in nearly four months since his father left for his worldwide trip to make relations with others across the world. Jaehyun hadn’t particularly kept up with that, but knew his father was gaining strong footholds in other countries (thus, the merger in Changsha).

Ten left in the morning, but not before a little lazy morning sex that comprised of Jaehyun leaving marks all over Ten’s thighs, and Ten making Jaehyun come twice in one session  _(“I’ve never done that before.” “Another first!”)._ They kissed slow at the door, and Jaehyun walked Ten out to the car he called for him. It was... domestic. Kind of. In a way that Jaehyun had never experienced before, because he’d never had somebody like that in his life before.

Jaehyun readied himself without the aid of makeup artists or the family’s stylist. He knew he should have taken more pride in himself meeting with his father, but there was something in him that wanted to dress himself. He grabbed an outfit from his closet, readied himself by adding a little gel to his hair, and waited for Jungwoo and Yukhei to arrive with the car.

When Jaehyun slipped into the car, he found... only Jungwoo. Jungwoo smiled short at Jaehyun, and Jaehyun took that as a sign not to ask about the missing presence in the car. Instead, the two started the trip in silence. Jungwoo made a comment on Jaehyun’s appearance, but other than that, the two stayed mostly in silence.

_I want to know you._

“Jungwoo?” Jaehyun said. Jungwoo let out a hum of acknowledgement, looked over his shoulder for just a moment to let Jaehyun know he was listening.

“Do you.... Do you feel like you know me?”

Jungwoo wanted to let out a snort of confusion, but just furrowed his brows and let out a soft, “prince?”

Perhaps this wasn’t the right question to ask, Jaehyun thought, as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. Jungwoo already knew; about his feelings, about Ten, about... well, basically everything. If there was anybody Jaehyun was supposed to trust and speak to, it was Jungwoo.

“Last night, Ten said he ‘wanted to know me’,” Jaehyun ensured to speak with air quotes and all. “He said he appreciated what I showed him, but he... wants more.”

“Oh!” Jungwoo let out a soft laugh, as if that was all the explanation he needed.

“Please, feel free to divulge,” Jaehyun said, impatient.

“Crown prince.... Respectfully, you were not exactly the most welcoming to Ten, especially in your early encounters.” Jungwoo quickly continued speaking, because he knew Jaehyun was getting ready to interject something in the conversation. “You have been groomed from a young age to be selective with which parts of yourself you show people. Ten isn’t an  _idiot,_ crown prince. He knows that you’re keeping things from him.”

“What more does he want me to do? He said he wants more, but he’s happy with what I’ve given him at the same time. He asks for more and then backs away from me. What does that mean?”

“It means,” Jungwoo said, as he turned the corner and slowed to a stop, found themselves on the same street as the king’s royal vehicle, “he wants you to trust him, prince.”

“I  _do.”_ Jaehyun sighed. This was definitely not the best conversation to have before meeting with his father.

“Do you think you trust him as much as he trusts you?”

Jaehyun furrowed his brows, thought about it. Jaehyun could text Ten and ask him to cancel his entire schedule for a week, and Ten would probably do it without question. Would Jaehyun do the same, if Ten asked him? If Ten sent him a single line message, telling him to drop all his responsibilities, would Jaehyun do it, or would he respond with something about Ten’s sanity, before closing his phone and returning to his schedule?

“Is it because of trust, or because of love?”

Jungwoo raised his brows with a quiet sigh, before shrugging and parking the car.

“For now, crown prince, let’s say it’s because of trust.”

  
  
  
  


When Ten didn’t have the pleasure of dealing with the royal family, he had the benefit of spending time with Xiaojun at home, which was equal amounts of fun. After being childhood friends and roommates once Ten got his shit together and started making good money, their friendship got even better. Ten would even call themselves best friends, even though Xiaojun bitterly commented that Ten’s friendship with Taeyong heavily outweighed their own. It was kind of cute. Sometimes.

And ever since Ten started messing around with the royal family, Xiaojun made his dislike of them very loudly known, even when he was invited to one of  _their_ parties.

That didn’t change when Ten came home from Jaehyun’s, sighing heavily and falling over on the couch. Xiaojun rolled his eyes, but watched as Ten ran his fingers through his hair.

“Did you have  _fun_ with the prince?” he said, sounding much more amused than expected. Ten let out a snort of laughter, nodded his head. “You stayed the night, so... something happened.”

“It wasn’t anything huge,” Ten said. “Hands, mostly.”

“Oh my god, are you a high schooler?” Xiaojun said, which made Ten laugh all the more. “Handjobs? Seriously?”

“I  _was_ planning on the whole thing, y’know,” Ten said, and then paused with a hesitant shrug of his shoulders, “but I think it hit me, like, how much I really don’t know him.” Ten stretched his arms up over his head.

“And?” Xiaojun replied. The sharp tone in his voice caught Ten off guard. “Do you know any of your other clients the way you want to know Jaehyun?”

“Well, no, but—”

“So?” Xiaojun sounded even more annoyed. “If he’s just a client, then why do you care?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Ten, which only earned a soft, annoyed sigh from Xiaojun. “I think after the way his family threw me into this situation, I want him to trust me.” Ten pressed his lips in a thin line. “I’m not just a distraction. I want to be....”

“Important to him?” Xiaojun said. Ten flushed pink, but didn’t answer. He left it open, as Xiaojun sighed  _again,_ before sitting back on the couch and staring at the tv for a moment, as if he’d find the right words to say in the program he was watching before Ten got home. “Ten.”

“Mm.”

“I just.... You should think about what happens after the magic wears off.”

Ten sat up, clearly taken aback.

“You know, like the glitz and glamour of it all. Jaehyun being a prince, and you as an escort.... You’re going to get tired of being on call for him whenever it’s convenient for him.”

Ten involuntarily grimaced. “You don’t know how I feel. How can you say that?”

“It’s just common sense. After this honeymoon phase is over, after you want to hear him give whatever your relationship is a label, what if he doesn’t label it what you think it is?” Xiaojun crossed his arms over his lap. “What if you’re the only one feeling anything... more?”

“Then I’ll be the only one that feels anything more.”

“And if you get your heart broken?”

“Then  _I’ll_ have my heart broken.”

The way Ten said it made it sound so simple, but he and Xiaojun knew better. Xiaojun knew there would be late night visits to Ten’s room, to comfort him and hold him until he stopped panicking long enough to go to sleep, because Ten was predictable in that way. And despite Ten’s denials, he knew there was merit in Xiaojun’s words. Right now, things felt fine. Things felt great, even. But there was still no label to whatever his and Jaehyun’s relationship was, and Ten still felt like it was one sided. Like Jaehyun was hiding himself.

“I’m not trying to be an asshole, genuinely this time,” said Xiaojun, which made Ten laugh a little. “I don’t like the royal family, but I know you like Jaehyun. I just don’t want you to get hurt, okay?”

Ten nodded, moved from the couch he was on to sit beside Xiaojun, before falling against his side and leaning his head on Xiaojun’s shoulder. Xiaojun hummed soft, pleased with how warm Ten was, considering he had forgotten to turn the heater on.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Xiaojun said. Ten agreed easily, relaxed with Xiaojun all morning long, without thinking of the royal family once.

  
  
  
  


Saying dinner with his father was life-changing would have been an understatement on Jaehyun’s part.

He thought dinner with his father meant meeting with the king, who would chide him for giving the queen such a hard time while they were apart, and especially when picking a proper prince for the throne. That was how most dinners with his father went. Chiding and shaming, scolding, and then at the end of it, his father would pat himself on the back, as if he had done a bang-up job raising his son, when he wasn’t even home for most of Jaehyun’s life.

But this time, dinner with his father meant getting a slap on the back and a loud cheer of laughter, as he said he was proud of Jaehyun for claiming himself as proper crown prince. Dinner meant sitting there and listening to his father prattle on about politics for the first time, in  _front_ of him,  _trusting_ him.

And at the end of it all, his father invited Jaehyun to join him on his next tour around the world coming up in just a short three weeks, meeting the great leaders along with him and gaining a foothold relationship with them. It seemed his father had a preference when it came to who was proper crown prince, and Jaehyun fit that bill.

Gongmyung found out through the grapevine— Jaehyun’s plans, he meant. He hadn’t spoken to him since the breakfast meeting, and definitely didn’t spare Jaehyun even so much as a sideways glance when they passed at the entrance of the family compound.

Asking Jungwoo to come along with him... was another matter. When Jaehyun brought it up, Jungwoo was trapped between being happy and then lost when he realized Jaehyun wouldn’t be home, so who would he serve? Jaehyun figured an easy resolve would be to bring Jungwoo with him, but that just earned another furrow of his brow, a quiet laugh, before he excused himself and asked if he could tell the crown prince his answer later.

Jaehyun didn’t know why until he encountered Jungwoo and Yukhei arguing in Jungwoo’s room, far from aware that Jaehyun was outside, and Jungwoo’s door was propped open just a touch.

“But I just got back, Jungwoo. No, you  _can’t_ go.”

“I wasn’t asking you for your permission,” Jungwoo said, sounding particularly annoyed. “I don’t seem to remember you asking if I minded your return home.”

“You would have minded,” Yukhei replied.

“I would’ve wanted you to be honest with me.”

At this, Jaehyun moved to the other side of the hall, peering in through the open spot of the door and finding Jungwoo standing over an empty bag, folding a shirt nonchalantly, while Yukhei stood at the end of the bed, arms crossed over his chest. Jungwoo had the fire in his fireplace going, as the days were getting colder, and being on the ground level didn’t help much with the temperature.

“Anyway, I’ve already made up my mind. I think it’d be good to spend some time away from this place.”

“From me,” Yukhei substituted. Jungwoo clicked his tongue.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t need to say it, I can hear it in your voice!” The way Yukhei raised his voice wasn’t loud, or even dominating; just irritated that his point wasn’t getting across, and Jungwoo wasn’t really listening to him either.

“The crown prince wants to do this, and he needs me. I serve the crown prince first. Or have you forgotten?”

“Of course not. How can I forget when all you do is talk about the crown prince?” Yukhei went red in the face, as Jungwoo folded another shirt, without paying him proper attention. “Would you stop acting like that?”

“Xuxi,” Jungwoo said, his voice on edge, as he flickered his gaze up at Yukhei from across the bed, “I am  _trying_ to keep this as civil as possible. Please, stop yelling like that.”

“You’re—” Yukhei huffed, searching for the words that just weren’t there. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I went back home. I’m sorry I didn’t call you while I was there. I’m sorry! Is that what you want to hear?”

Jungwoo folded another shirt, tucked it away in his bag, and moved to his closet to grab a jacket. As he did so, Yukhei reached out for his arm, turned him around to face him.

“Stop—”

“No,  _you_ stop it,” Yukhei said.

The more Jaehyun listened to him, the more he remembered how hard it was for Yukhei to communicate sometimes. He was still learning the language. Even being surrounded and saturated in the culture didn’t help Yukhei learn any faster. Most of the time, it didn’t really affect conversation, but now that Yukhei was panicking, trying to catch Jungwoo’s attention, and Jungwoo was just brushing him off like that, it made his vocabulary stilted, awkward. It almost reminded Jaehyun of a young child or something.

“You just keep ignoring me. I— it’s not fair, why you’re mad at me. My family  _expects_ things of me. I can’t just say no to them, because of....”

“Because of, what?” Jungwoo said, calmly. “Because of me? Is that what you were going to say?”

“No.”

“Because of us, then?” Jungwoo seemed more irritated, his tone sharp as he walked towards his suitcase again. “Because of how shameful we are?”

When Yukhei didn’t answer, Jungwoo snorted with laughter and let out a sigh after.

“That’s... not fair.”

“No, it isn’t fair,” Jungwoo agreed. “I know your parents are traditional. I understand that.” Jungwoo furrowed his brows and threw the clothes in his arms down. “I  _understand_ there are things you’ll have to do so they don’t disown you, but I expect the decency to be warned before the fact. It isn’t  _fair_ to me either that you just left without even— even a note, or a phone call.”

Before Yukhei could interject, Jungwoo continued.

“Xuxi, I... wouldn’t care if your parents wedded you off to some woman.” Jungwoo’s shoulders rose with tension. “As long as you told me before, I wouldn’t care if we had to hide, or be secretive, if I had to pretend like I don’t love you in front of everybody we knew— none of it would matter as long as you  _talked_ to me and told me these things. But you don’t. You never tell me when your parents expect you to be a suitor for some woman back home. You’ve never warned me before you leave for Hong Kong. You just leave, and— and you expect me to be okay with it when you get back.”

Jungwoo looked up at Yukhei, their eyes meeting. Jaehyun could feel the tension of the room. This was  _wrong._ He shouldn’t have been looking in on this stuff. It wasn’t his business. And yet, it explained so much; Jaehyun hadn’t even known where Yukhei was off at, and wondered what it was that had caused Jungwoo’s attitude to sour so much as of late.

“If you want me to start telling you, I will.” Yukhei looked frantic, nervous. With the way he wiped his palms on his pants, Jaehyun figured he was right. “Please, don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m never mad. It just hurts.”

Yukhei paused. He could tell Jungwoo wasn’t done talking.

“Maybe you should rethink whether you really want to be here.” Jungwoo closed his suitcase, pushed it to the side of his bed.

“You know I want to be here.  _I_ know I want to be here.”

“You said you wanted to be here with me.” Jungwoo’s voice was soft. Jaehyun almost couldn’t hear him. “That’s why you came. I know what you said, but the things you do say the opposite, and... well, I’m just not really one for dramatic relationships.”

“I—” A wave of anger appeared to wash over Yukhei’s expression. “You  _know_ I want to be here! You’re always second guessing me.”

“Stop shouting.”

“No!” Yukhei huffed, pulled a piece of paper from the pocket of his jacket. “I wrote this for you. I wanted to give it to you the night before I left.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because you were with the crown prince! Because you’re  _always_ with the crown prince.” Yukhei’s voice cracked near the end of his sentence, as he opened the paper up, let his eyes scan over it, before huffing and crumpling it up. Jaehyun watched as he tossed it in the fireplace.

“Xuxi....”

Yukhei sniffled, lifted the back of his hand to his eyes and wiped away a few budding tears before shaking his head.

“Forget it. Maybe it is good if you leave.”

Yukhei stormed towards the door before Jungwoo could get another word in, opening the door and finding Jaehyun pressing himself against the wall, as if it would hide him in any way. Yukhei huffed, face bright red, but he still managed to bow his head and mumble a greeting and an apology, before rushing down the hall.

Jaehyun couldn’t bring himself to think of anything to say to Jungwoo, after listening to all that, like some kind of Peeping Tom, enjoying other people’s dirty laundry like he had some right to. And especially after being the one responsible for the fight in the first place.... Jaehyun ignored the sound of Jungwoo’s footsteps, as he walked to the door and closed it.

  
  
  
  


On a night when Jaehyun couldn’t fall asleep, he found himself getting dressed and tugging on a sweater. It was a little chilly, autumn falling upon them and making the days shorter and nights colder. Jungwoo had long since fallen asleep, Jaehyun figured. He didn’t want to bother him, and... well, he preferred being alone for a while, if he was being honest.

He grabbed a pair of keys from the garage wall, unlocked the car of his choosing, and eased inside a moment later. As of late, he hadn’t been able to drive as much as he used to, what with safety issues and the way Jungwoo was usually so quietly protective of him. It was nice to be in the driver’s seat for once.

Honestly, he wasn’t quite sure where he was headed, until he was turning the corner to a familiar street and found himself in front of Ten’s apartment complex. It was almost unconscious, he thought, but knew he could have stopped his venture there at any time. Was it really so accidental?

Jaehyun stared at his phone for a moment, contemplating calling Ten. He was probably asleep, well past 3:30am, but... there was something bugging him, still. Standing outside of his apartment complex like some kind of lovestruck loser.

Figuring his best bet would be heading to the building itself and buzzing the button to his apartment until someone answered, he supposed.

What Jaehyun didn’t expect so quickly, was the answer of a voice from the tinny box beside the buttons, as soon as he jabbed the corresponding button to their apartment.

“Do you know what time it is?” the voice said, irritated. It most definitely wasn’t Ten’s voice, but... smaller? In a way? The fact that Ten had a roommate slipped his mind, until the voice continued, “hello?”

“I.... Is Ten awake?”

“What? No— wait, who the hell is this?”

“It’s Jaehyun. Are you his roommate?”

“The crown prince? You’re joking.” The voice sounded especially annoyed now. “Do you know what time it is?”

“I know what time it is,” Jaehyun rushed out. “That’s why I’m asking.”

“You....” A sigh, a pause, as if contemplating their choices, and then the sound of buzzing relayed back to Jaehyun, as he reached for the door and opened it. “I’ll wake him up.”

  


Jaehyun was greeted at the door by a short figure, glaring at him as he jerked the door open and let Jaehyun walk in. Jaehyun bowed his head and thanked him, stood to the side, as Ten’s roommate brushed past him and returned to the living room. Jaehyun hadn’t been invited in the first time, and now carefully walked forward, mindful of their shoes at the front door in a slight mess, and the way the floorboards creaked if Jaehyun stepped on just the wrong ones.

“He’s in his room, if you want to go knock or something,” Ten’s roommate said after he flopped himself down on the couch again. Jaehyun couldn’t quite remember his name.... Xiaojun, if his memory was serving him right? All he really could remember was that Ten’s roommate most definitely couldn’t stand him, or any of the royal family, for that matter. At least it included his brother, Jaehyun thought, before excusing himself and heading to, what he assumed was, Ten’s door.

Just as he went to bring his knuckles down on the door, Ten opened it, hair still a mess, and sleep marks still decorating his face. He was dressed, though, with a hoodie two sizes too big pulled over his frame, and a pair of joggers underneath. Jaehyun let out a breath of relief that he didn’t have to spend any time with Ten’s roommate, because as much as Jaehyun knew he should have been civil, a part of him couldn’t help but be annoyed that he hated him for no reason.

“Jaehyun, what are you doing here?”

“Can we—” Jaehyun paused, looking over his shoulder. “Can we go for a walk? Or... or something?”

Ten furrowed his brows, arms crossed over his chest. He parted his lips to speak, but Jaehyun let out a soft sigh first.

“Please?”

The straw that broke that camel’s back, so to speak, Ten nodded a moment after, turning around to close his bedroom door, before following Jaehyun to the front door and telling Xiaojun he’d be back in a little. He grabbed his keys from beside the door, and the two headed towards the elevator. Jaehyun remained quiet until they were out of the complex, as he let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.

“What’s the matter?”

“I....” Jaehyun shook his head. “God, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s wrong.” That wasn’t a lie. There was so much Jaehyun could have said, so much that was bothering him, but all of it was piling and surmounting into this disastrous mountain of problems— Jaehyun didn’t even know where to start. Even the white noise of the city streets felt too distracting for Jaehyun to think properly. Where would he even start, if he had any idea?

“Hey,” Ten said, before Jaehyun could claw the feelings out of himself and force them past his lips. It took a moment for Jaehyun to register Ten’s hand on the crook of his neck, oh-so warm and inviting, as he squeezed affectionately. Immediately, Jaehyun felt the tension drop from his muscles, his eyes softening as he leaned into the touch. Ten cupped his cheek and did his best to keep in the shock when Jaehyun received his affection so well.

Ten spoke soft, urged Jaehyun to follow him just down the street. Once again, they kept silent, Ten only looking at Jaehyun to ensure he wasn’t freaking out or having a breakdown. He led the way there, holding Jaehyun’s hand without hesitation, as they crossed block after block, until they were at a quiet section of street, illuminated by street lamps and Christmas lights put up too early for their own good.

“What’s wrong?” Ten repeated his sentiments from earlier, but now Jaehyun could grab onto a thread of the beginning of it, having had a moment to gather his thoughts and figure out what to bring up first.

But of course, organizing it in his head went a lot better than actually speaking, as most of his thoughts came tumbling out all at once in a jumbled mess.

“I— I just don’t know what I want anymore. I don’t know what I like or want or don’t like, I don’t know if the things I’m doing are right or wrong. Is there even a right or wrong?” Jaehyun paused to furrow his brows, felt his heart suddenly pounding in his chest. “My family expects me to step up and be a prince and demand respect, and then in the same moment, they want me to respect my brother and ensure there’s no tension between us, but Gongmyung can’t even stand being at the same dinner table with me.”

Ten, at a loss for words, just squeezed tighter when Jaehyun’s fingers loosened from his grip.

“I’ve only known being a prince for my entire life. This is what I’ve been  _groomed_ for. So why— why—” Jaehyun cursed, loud, unapologetic. “Fuck, why am I so scared of finally getting what I’ve wanted?!”

“Jaehyun....”

“And you—!” Jaehyun shouted without realizing it, immediately shutting up as Ten involuntarily shrunk away. The sudden shock of being yelled at caught him off guard. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I’m just.... And you’re.....” Jaehyun sighed, felt the sting of tears pricking at his eyes, the familiar swell as he tried his hardest to fight them off. The way a ball built in the middle of his throat and made it hot and hard to swallow against it. “You’re everything, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“I’m everything?” Ten said, leaning forward to catch Jaehyun’s attention.

“Like— you’re everything, you’re all I think about.” Jaehyun huffed, lifted his free hand from his side to wipe his eyes underneath the glasses he was wearing, sniffling and not caring how he looked while doing so. “I used to be able to do things and not care about anybody else. I was first, and my family’s reputation, by association, but now.... Now, I do things, and the first person I think of is  _you,_ and I don’t know how to deal with it.”

Jaehyun sniffled again.

“Ten, I.... My father asked me to leave with him. For his next campaign.”

“Campaign? You’re royalty. You don’t have to campaign.”

“You know the royal family is heavily intertwined with politics. My father might be king, but he can’t just... do things without having connections in other countries. Other families. Other political systems.”

“And... you want to go with him. That’s why you’re telling me.” Ten’s own hand loosened from Jaehyun’s, their grip going slack and falling apart. Ten tucked his hand in the pocket of his sweater. “That’s why you came over this late. It’s on your conscience.”

“Yes, but not in the way you think it is.”

“What other way is there?” Ten said. Despite the standoffish conversation, Ten’s voice was still bated, quiet. “You feel guilty, don’t you?”

“No, I’m  _afraid_ of feeling guilty,” came Jaehyun’s response. “Ten, you knew from the start. You knew this wasn’t just a normal relationship.” With the way Ten tensed, Jaehyun knew he had struck a nerve. “I mean, come on. My family brought you in as— as an escort. Our introduction wasn’t exactly a fairytale.”

Ten frowned.

“Listen, I.... Yes, I want to go with my father. Of course I do.”

_This is what I’ve been groomed to do._

“I’m planning on it. That’s why I came. I needed to tell you.” This time, Jaehyun felt another wave of tears hit him, and he couldn’t stop it, as he continued speaking through the cracks of his voice and the way his throat felt so raw. “Because I watched Yukhei and Jungwoo arguing over something like this, and it felt— it hit me right here,” Jaehyun gestured towards his heart, felt so stupid spilling his guts like this, “and it  _aches_ so bad, and I don’t want us to fight like that.”

Jaehyun broke down into tears, couldn’t manage another word. The sound of his crying became muffled as Ten pulled him into his arms, pressed his face in the crook of his neck and held onto him like his life depended on it. Jaehyun let out soft sobs, didn’t pay much mind to the way his glasses steamed up and got dirty pressed up against his face like that.

The way Ten ran his fingers through Jaehyun’s hair became hypnotic almost, as he calmed down within a few minutes. The sound of the city felt like a far off dream now, just the wind, and the cold of fall, and Ten’s breathing. While one of Ten’s hands moved through his hair, the other held onto his other hand, squeezing tight enough to make their fingers white with tension.

“If you don’t want to wait for me,” Jaehyun said, his voice partially muffled by Ten’s sweater, “because I’m going to be gone for a while, I understand. I can’t guarantee I’ll even be able to talk to you all that much.”

Ten hummed, and that just made Jaehyun melt into his arms all that much more.

“When do you leave?”

“Three weeks.”

A sigh. “Wow. That’s... soon.”

“Yeah.” That was all Jaehyun could think to say.

“So, are you.... Do you want to stop whatever we’re doing?”

At this, Jaehyun pulled away, wiped his eyes again.

“It’s selfish, but no,” said Jaehyun, shaking his head with the weakest of laughs. “I don’t want to.”

“Good,” Ten paused to grin, swipe a stray tear from Jaehyun’s cheek with the flat of his thumb, “I don’t want to stop either.”

“But, when I have to leave...?”

“Don’t really want to think about it until we absolutely have to.”

Jaehyun’s heart unconsciously warmed at the sound of Ten referring to them as “we”. It was stupidly endearing, in the simplest of ways.

“It’s going to hurt.” Jaehyun frowned. Ten nodded easily.

“Yeah. I know.” He paused to sweep a piece of Jaehyun’s hair from his face, because Jaehyun hadn’t had it trimmed in a while, since Ten mentioned he liked it when it was getting shaggy. “Do you want to come home with me?”

Jaehyun hardly hesitated to agree, laced his fingers together with Ten’s own, but not before he managed to sneak a kiss outside of Ten’s apartment, while the sound of Xiaojun’s TV show leaked out under the space of the doorway and into the quiet moment they reserved for themselves.

  


Ten wasn’t much of a morning person. In fact, he was probably the furthest from it, considering his job and the usual activities it entailed: parties, dates, late night conversations, and sex, being the obvious one.

But there was something he didn’t mind so much about rolling over early, about six in the morning, with Jaehyun right beside him. His face looked dewy and soft under the mellowed morning light seeping in past Ten’s curtains. The small shadows the curve of his lashes threw over his cheeks was so subtle, so delicate— Jaehyun had never appeared so relaxed to Ten before.

It felt almost normal when Ten reached over and swept his thumb over the soft expanse of Jaehyun’s cheek, pushing his dark hair from his skin. If Ten had to put a name to whatever feeling it was flooding his chest and making his heart ache, he would’ve guessed it was something like infatuation, pure adoration in a simple way. A quiet sigh escaped Jaehyun’s lips, as he lifted his hand from beside his head and swept it over his own cheek, searching for the disruption of his sleep. Ten smiled when Jaehyun furrowed his brows, lacing his fingers with Ten’s own and squeezing tightly.

“Why are you awake?” Jaehyun said, voice slurred with sleep.

“I don’t know,” said Ten. Jaehyun peered an eye open at him, pulling Ten back down beside him and snuggled in closer to him. Ten let out a small noise of surprise when Jaehyun tucked his face in the crook of his neck and let out a small breath against his skin. “Have I told you you’re beautiful?”

Ten didn’t miss the blush that graced the tips of his ears, as he scoffed and gave Ten a nudge against his shoulder.

“Shut up.”

Ten laughed, running his free hand through Jaehyun’s hair.

“I’ll tell you later, then.”

Later consisted of late breakfast, with Xiaojun fast asleep on the couch, his insomnia getting the best of him for once. Later meant Jaehyun and Ten eating on the balcony of Ten’s apartment, staring at the city below them, the airplanes above, and Jaehyun holding Ten’s hand on the small table they sat at, drinking from the same mug of coffee, even though it was too sweet for Jaehyun’s tastes.

Later meant the time Ten spent listening to Jaehyun calling Jungwoo to pick him up, because as much as they liked to pretend, they still had responsibilities. Ten couldn’t act like he didn’t know Jaehyun was going back home to begin prepping for his trip with the king. A day out of three weeks spent together and gone already.

“Have a good day, okay?” Ten said, his voice sounding too small. Jaehyun nodded, leaned in to kiss him. Xiaojunderly, he pulled away and pecked kisses on Ten’s cheeks, the corners of his lips, the tip of his nose, until Ten was laughing and pushing him away, clearly embarrassed.

Ten had to watch Jaehyun leave, but for now he figured he could bear it.

  
  
  
  


When Jaehyun returned home that day, he was bombarded with plans from his father and mother, all of which included family outings. It had been a long while since Gongmyung had even spared Jaehyun a glance, let alone spending time together with him, but it seemed for the sake for the family, Gongmyung didn’t mind. He sucked it up and put on a smile, even bothered to smile at Jaehyun and agree with him when he made a comment about missing their family being together.

It all felt so... forced. Laughter and conversations he didn’t want to be a part of, sitting beside his brother like they weren’t feuding when their father wasn’t there— Jaehyun wanted to be anywhere but here. Anywhere with Ten, or Jungwoo, or  _alone,_ so long as he didn’t have to pretend like he was enjoying this.

At one of their smaller gatherings, Jaehyun managed to sneak away with Johnny, a breath of fresh air among all the shit he had been dealing with.

“My father wants me to join him with you and your father,” Johnny said. “He said he figures it’s good for me to get some political advising in while I’m young, before it actually, y’know, means anything.”

“Do you mind if we don’t talk about politics right now?” Jaehyun said, voice soft, as they snuck away from their families and ended up outside, sitting on the steps of the front porch.

“What do you wanna talk about?” Johnny said.

“Just... anything but politics. Thinking about it makes my stomach turn.”

Johnny furrowed his brows, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he nodded his head and started talking about the fact that he had been spending some time with his old college friends, and even wanted to make a trip to the states to see some friends. Jaehyun just nodded along like he was completely listening, until Johnny hummed and leaned over, nudging Jaehyun with his arm.

“Do you want to talk about your little crush?”

Jaehyun flushed furiously, shaking his head.

“That doesn’t make me feel better either.”

“You two didn’t fight or anything, did you? ‘Cause you’re not exactly the easiest person to get along with sometimes. Actually, you’re pretty fuckin’ difficult, if I do say so myself—”

“Would you—” Jaehyun laughed and punched Johnny in the shoulder, felt the stress disappear if only for a moment, as he shook his head and sat back on the steps. With a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair. “I just don’t know if all  _this_ is what I want.”

“This” referred to rubbing elbows with other politicians and trying to pass an agenda that was favorable to his family. “This” meant dinners every night and wearing certain clothes to make an impression and speaking a certain way because that was the proper way he was raised. “This” meant the royal family and the fact that Jaehyun was a  _part_ of it.

“You’ve wanted to be king your entire life. You’re second guessing it because of... a man?”

“Don’t make it sound like  _that,”_ Jaehyun said. “It’s not just because of Ten. I’ve just been thinking a lot about if this is what I want, or if this is what my family made me want.”

Jaehyun paused to look over at Johnny, who was undoing the tie around his neck and looping it around his wrist, as he leaned back on his arms and stared up at the sky. Jaehyun did the same, even slipping off his blazer, that felt so fucking  _heavy_ with all the useless pins and knick-knacks and badges thrown on there to make him appear professional. Images. He was so tired of keeping up with them.

“I think... I’ve always wanted this because I’ve never been offered the option of  _not_ going for the throne. Gongmyung doesn’t speak to me outside of these gatherings anymore. He won’t even look at me at the same dinner table.” Jaehyun shook his head. “On top of that, I caused Jungwoo and Yukhei to fight over something I’m forcing Jungwoo into doing for me. I feel like all the decisions I make now affect  _everybody_ instead of just  _me.”_

“That’s... kind of how it is when you’re prince, Jaehyunie.”

“I know. I feel like I’ve always known. But now... it sucks.”

Johnny snorted out a laugh, Jaehyun joining him a beat later and lying down on the porch, not caring if his shirt got dirty. Staring up at the sky, void of stars because of light pollution, calmed Jaehyun down for a moment, as he let his eyes shut.

“Nobody is forcing you to go for the throne,” Johnny said, “but you’ve wanted it for so long. Maybe you should just join your father for the trip. If you don’t like it, then you’ll step down.”

“It sounds so simple when you say it.”

“It  _is_ that simple.”

“What about my brother? If I step down, he gets the throne after I made him look like a fool. I wasted my father’s time. I have to leave Ten just to do this. I made Jungwoo and Yukhei argue over nothing for me.”

“You sound just like a prince,” Johnny said. Jaehyun let out a noise of confusion. “Taking responsibility for everything. Feeling responsible for everybody.” Johnny reached over and took Jaehyun’s hand in his own, a suddenly affectionate gesture that Jaehyun very much appreciated, as he squeezed Johnny’s hand back. “If the people in your life want to stay in your life, they’ll find a way back. And if you decide this isn’t what you wanted, then you just have to step down and find what you do want. Besides, I’ve known you my entire life. You don’t give up on things so easily.”

As if they had nothing else to say, they just laid there on the porch, staring at the sky and counting the moments together before they heard chatter at the front door, the king and queen escorting their guests out. At the steps, the queen let out an audible gasp.

“Jaehyun, what are you doing on the ground?!”

At this, all Jaehyun could offer was a lazy shrug, as he stood up and grabbed his discarded blazer from beside him, heading inside without bidding anyone good night.

  
  
  
  


The next time Jaehyun and Ten manage to spend time together, it’s after a fairly sudden and nervous call from Jaehyun, as he wanted to be respectful and actually  _ask_ Ten, instead of pulling him away from his life and his job without so much as a moment’s notice. Ten couldn’t help but giggle during the phone call, as Jaehyun just barely navigated his way around asking Ten if he would take an entire day to spend time with him.

_(“I’ll even pay you, y’know, since I’m taking the whole day from you.” “Shut up, Jaehyun.”)_

When Ten walked downstairs to find Jaehyun standing beside a rather low profile vehicle, he quirked a brow, ducked his head to see if there was a driver in the front seat. Not even Jungwoo was there, which was an oddity.

“I thought we could just have this day to ourselves.” Jaehyun sounded sheepish, as he opened the passenger side door and waited for Ten to sit down. Instead, Ten smiled and pulled Jaehyun in by his collar, kissed him slow and tender. Jaehyun’s face flushed furiously, hot to the touch as he felt Ten nip at his bottom lip, before pulling away with a small smile.

“Nice to see you, crown prince.”

Jaehyun joined Ten in the car a moment after shutting his door, easily settling in the driver’s seat, as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a quiet sniffle.

“No contacts today?”

“My eyes are always really dry in the winter, so I can’t wear them,” said Jaehyun, voice low, a bit embarrassed, as he pouted slightly. Ten couldn’t help laughing.

“It wasn’t a dig at you. I think you’re really cute no matter what.”

Jaehyun didn’t say anything in response, just let the light blush on his face speak for itself, before moving to start the car.

“So, I figured we could, er, switch?”

Ten quirked a brow, suggestive as he laughed. Jaehyun rolled his eyes.

“I mean, I pick something to do, and then you pick after that, and... so on.”

“Sounds like a decent idea,” Ten replied.

“Cool.” Jaehyun paused to tug on his seatbelt, taking a long breath in. “Yeah. Okay, cool.”

“You’re usually so eloquent, prince.” Ten leaned over a bit. “What’s the matter?”

“Just—” Jaehyun felt his breath stop as soon as he turned to face Ten, found him only a few inches away from his face. “Just....”

When Ten leaned in to kiss Jaehyun again, it was much more intentional, all tenderness and soft nips at his lip, much too early and  _far_ too out in the open for this kind of thing, especially for a crown prince. The thought of stopping Ten hadn’t even crossed his mind, though, as Jaehyun melted into the touch and kissed Ten back with a soft sigh.

“Missed you,” Ten said against Jaehyun’s lips when they parted. Jaehyun couldn’t help smiling at that, felt all his anxiety melt from his muscles, and instead, felt his heart flood with joy. “How am I supposed to go months without seeing you?”

It was supposed to be cute, or... something, Jaehyun thought, but being reminded hit Jaehyun right in the heart. Definitely not the right thing to set the mood. Ten pecked a kiss on Jaehyun’s lips to chase the thought away.

“Where are we going first, then?”

Jaehyun opened his phone, found the list he had haphazardly typed out, most of which were Jungwoo’s suggestions for dates. Jaehyun hadn’t had the mind to ask about how he and Yukhei were doing, all things considered, but figured he should soon. At least before they left.

“Have you eaten anything yet?”

“Nope! I’m starving.”

“So... lunch. And then something else. After that. Y-you pick, though.”

Ten agreed with a laugh, scooted back in his seat and pulled his own seatbelt on. Jaehyun tried not to think too hard about how disappointed he felt after Ten sat back in his seat.

  


At first, Jaehyun’s anxiety seemed laughable. Stuttering over his own words and seeming a little unsure of himself when he usually carried an air of unmistakable confidence made him seem almost unrecognizable to Ten. He had furrowed his brows and asked Jaehyun if he was really okay multiple times, and it was only late afternoon, after their lunch. Jaehyun had to nervously chirp that he was fine, but it did nothing to quell his own nerves, and certainly didn’t convince Ten of anything.

Now, it was just... irritating. Ten hadn’t said anything about it, but Jaehyun could feel his atmosphere changing every time Ten noticed he was acting a bit off.

After lunch, Ten decided they should just go for a walk. It was a simple idea, and Jaehyun was sure it was meant more as something to calm Jaehyun down. But as they ambled along the sidewalk, hands clasped together, and Jaehyun hiding his face behind a face mask and a baseball cap, he realized how  _cold_ it was. And not only that, but the fact that Ten didn’t have a hoodie on hit him.

“Here, take my jacket,” Jaehyun said, already shrugging it off and moving to sweep it across Ten’s shoulders. Ten hummed pleasantly, slipping his arms through and zipping it up just slightly. At least Jaehyun had a long sleeve shirt underneath. Ten cuddled into the fabric of his jacket and took a deep breath.

“Smells like you,” Ten said.

“The real thing is right here,” Jaehyun remarked, earned a gentle nudge to his shoulder, before Ten was leaning against him with a small sigh.

“It’s starting to get dark already.... I should’ve picked you up earlier.”

With the way Jaehyun sighed, Ten could almost feel the stress in it.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m happy we just get to spend time together.”

“Yeah, but—” Jaehyun huffed, tugging the baseball cap off with a huff and running his fingers through his hair. “But I didn’t even pick something for us to do, so now we’re just walking around out here in the cold, and you don’t even have a coat. You’re gonna get  _sick_ and it’s my fault, just because I can’t pick something for us to do.”

Ten parted his lips to speak, but Jaehyun was already fuming more.

“And on top of it, I’m a stupid prince, so we can’t even do anything normal unless I rent out the entire place. We can’t even see a movie together because everyone stares at us. Lunch was so bad because everyone was looking, I felt like I couldn’t even breathe—”

“Jaehyun,” Ten said, catching his attention. After a moment, Ten pushed the mask down from Jaehyun’s face, caught his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “You’re beating yourself up over nothing. Don’t you think if I wasn’t having a good time, I would say so?”

“No, you wouldn’t say so.” Jaehyun grimaced. “You’re too nice to me.”

“Yeah, well,” Ten paused to smile, “you’re a little socially challenged, so I have to give you  _some_ wiggle room.”

“Shut up,” Jaehyun said, batting Ten’s hand away from his chin, while Ten latched himself onto Jaehyun’s side and squeezed affectionately. Now that Jaehyun didn’t have his jacket, he was feeling the winter winds around them. How did Ten even think of walking around outside without a coat?

“Trust me, I’m having a good time. But... you’re taking the date really seriously.” Ten furrowed his brows for a moment. “A lot more seriously than you normally do. It’s okay to just be yourself with me.” Ten shrugged. “I would have fun if our date was even just sitting in the car, listening to the radio together, okay? So....”

Ten trailed off, staring up at the sky. Jaehyun followed his line of vision, staring up at the sky and feeling a snowflake hit him square in the middle of his eyes. Jaehyun sputtered, brushed it away, before another landed on his cheek, and another on his forehead, and it was snowing.

“It’s the first snow of the season,” said Ten, sounding small, excited. “That probably means something, right?”

Jaehyun clicked his tongue.

“What kind of ridiculous stuff are you talking about?”

“Yeah! You know, something romantic. Maybe we should kiss in the snow. Maybe something good will come from it!”

“Are you sure it’s not just an excuse to kiss me again?”

Ten laughed. “Do I need an excuse to want to kiss you?”

Damn Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul for being so smooth, Jaehyun thought bitterly, before leaning over to kiss Ten, short, chaste, but still enough to make Ten blush this time. With a shiver, Ten pulled away and grinned, pointing at his cheek, demanding another kiss. Jaehyun rolled his eyes, but pecked him there and pulled away.

“Hey, your face is really cold.”

“It’s cold out here,” said Ten matter-of-factly.

“Maybe we should go inside somewhere. You’re gonna catch cold if we don’t.”

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be such a mom. We can stay out here! Watch the snow together!”

Ten shouted this as Jaehyun was already leading him down the sidewalk by his hand, searching for a place where they could get warm. Most of the places around here were shops and coffee stores, which weren’t bad, but they were  _packed._ A few bars here and there, more restaurants, before Jaehyun finally spotted a larger building, letting out a sigh of relief.

“A mall, hyung? Really?” Ten called after Jaehyun, running across the street together and heading inside. Already, Jaehyun could feel the warmth of the building enveloping them, his chills subsiding and instead, pulling his mask off from his face. His face was flushed from the cold, much like Ten’s nose was red, the tips of his ears tinged with scarlet. Ten shook his head and watched the snowflakes fall off. When they glanced outside, the snow had really picked up, now falling in huge flakes and piling up on the cold sidewalks outside.

They turned around to find the mall lit up in Christmas lights, golden yellow and decorated with cloth and stockings, a huge tree standing in the middle of it, decorated at the top, but leaving space towards the bottom for people to hang up little messages or decorations of their own. Ten let out a little noise of awe, looking around before realizing they had walked in on a holiday event.

“Look! They have gingerbread houses!” Ten pointed towards a few rows of long tables where families sat, decorating houses and chattering softly. At another station just beside those were hot drinks, chocolate and cinnamon pervading the air and making Jaehyun’s mouth water. “C’mon!”

Ten was the one to pull Jaehyun this time towards all the tables, sans his mask and pulling his baseball cap off. When he did, the adults at the tables let out small shocked noises, as he lifted his hand to wave at them, bowing his head even to apologize.

“Ten?”

Ten recognized that voice, turning his head to find Taeyong standing up from one of the kids’ tables. He smiled instantly, threw his arms around Taeyong with a laugh.

“What is all this?”

“It’s a benefit,” Taeyong explained. “For less fortunate families. All of these kids get to pick a toy from the stores in here, and the money we raise goes towards Christmas dinners for them, too.” Taeyong leaned back on the table behind him. “We’ve had some big donations, so we managed all these little things set up for the kids.”

“Are adults allowed to participate?” Ten said, eager. Taeyong laughed, nodded.

“Of course. We just ask that if you can donate, please do, and other than that, have fun? Who’s your friend, anyways?”

Jaehyun tensed when Taeyong looked up at him, squinting at him, before letting out a small gasp and bowing his head immediately. Jaehyun flushed, clearly embarrassed, as he went to tug his mask back on. Ten stopped him, and then clapped his hand on Taeyong’s shoulder and stood him upright.

“That’s.... Ten, of course you would be one to bring a prince here!” Taeyong said, incredulous. “Is this who you’ve been so busy with? Xiaojun would never tell me where you were.”

“I’m surprised, considering Xiaojun loathes Jaehyun and his family,” Ten said with a laugh. “Jaehyun, this is my friend, Taeyong. Taeyong, I’m sure you know Jaehyun.”

“Crown prince,” Taeyong said, bowing his head again, a little less than before, but still nervous. Jaehyun couldn’t help the awkward smile that graced his face, as he tried to keep Taeyong from looking so cordial with him.

“I’m... here as Ten’s date, not the crown prince. Don’t worry about it.”

Taeyong nodded, then turned his attention to Ten.

“So, we can make gingerbread houses? And have hot chocolate?”

“Of course!” Taeyong smiled short. “I’m gonna be busy for most of the night, but if you need anything, let me know, okay?”

With that, Taeyong was swept away by some of the other volunteers of the night, and Ten and Jaehyun quickly picked up some hot drinks and the supplies to make a gingerbread house, easily situating themselves towards the end of a table, per Jaehyun’s request.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be near people,” Jaehyun explained, as they set their things down on the table and tried to ignore the murmurs of the people around them, staring. “I just... don’t know if they like me or not. I don’t want to assume.”

“Who cares if they like you or not?” Ten said, mindlessly.

 _“I_ do,” Jaehyun replied, a little too quick to be casual. Ten felt a little embarrassed at that, but didn’t do anything other than smile at Jaehyun and apologize. They started setting down the foundation for their gingerbread house, slathering the piece of flat cardboard with some frosting and setting the bottom frame of the house in place.

More than a few times, Jaehyun found his hand in Ten’s own, squeezing reassuringly before pulling away and sneaking a piece of candy into his mouth. Jaehyun had to run to the supplies table again for more gumdrops considering Ten kept  _eating_ them.

As Jaehyun piled more gumdrops into two cups, one for Ten’s snack, and the other for the house, he felt a tug at his shirt, as he lifted his arm from his side and glanced down. Standing beside him was a young boy, staring up at him with wide, glassy eyes.

“‘Scuse me, I need candy,” he said, easy enough. Jaehyun apologized, stepped to the side, and watched as the young boy approached the table warily. Mentally, Jaehyun wanted to kick himself right about now, as he realized the boy was just too small to reach anything on the table.

“Do you need help?” Jaehyun said, setting his cups down and offering to pick the boy up. The boy reached his arms out towards Jaehyun, let Jaehyun pick him up and stared down at the candies on the table. “You point at them, and I’ll grab them for you, okay?”

“Okay, prince,” the boy said, as casual as ever. Jaehyun grabbed a cup for the candies the boy pointed out, piling them in generously before finally the boy wriggled in his arms and he set him down, handing him the cup. He stared down at it in his hands, grabbed a handful, and stuffed it in his mouth.

“Daehyun!”

The boy looked up to his mother sitting at the table, waving him back.

“The candy is for the house, not to eat!” she said, sounding particularly exhausted. Jaehyun couldn’t help but laugh, loaded up another cup full of candy, before reaching his hand out to Daehyun, who latched onto his pinkie and walked along, mouth full of sweets still.

“Thank you so much,” his mother said, bowing her head deep in respect. Clearly, she knew who Jaehyun was, as even her kids ducked down and bowed. Daehyun was the only one who didn’t care.

“Really, it’s okay,” Jaehyun said, lifting his hands in front of him and trying to wave it off casually. “He’s very cute.”

“Oh, thank you, crown prince!” The mother nodded her head again.

“Are you....” Jaehyun couldn’t figure out a way to phrase what he was asking, so he furrowed his brows and decided to just bite the bullet and ask. “Is their father around?”

“Oh, no,” she said, curt. “That’s why we’re at this benefit. I work most of the year to support my family, since he can’t anymore.”

“Ah,” was all Jaehyun could manage, nodding in understanding.

“But it’s okay,” she continued. “My kids are healthy. That’s all I need.”

Jaehyun couldn’t think of anything else to say, and by the time he figured he should excuse himself, Ten was calling him back to the table. Only now, people were standing around, and even the family he had just been speaking to decided to scoot down a little so they could keep talking. Ten smiled as soon as Jaehyun took his seat, cheeks red.

“So, what was that about people not liking you?”

Jaehyun pouted and tossed a gumdrop at Ten.

“Oh, shush. Have you done anything since I was gone? Look at it. I have to do all the work to build this gingerbread house!”

“Boo-hoo, crown prince.”

Jaehyun didn’t miss the way Ten nudged him under the table to catch his attention, smiling so affectionately as Jaehyun shook his head and grabbed some more frosting.

  


By the end of it, Jaehyun and Ten had managed to buy some ugly Christmas sweaters one of the grandmothers there had knitted herself. To be fair, she was  _marketing_ them as ugly Christmas sweaters, but actually having them on and seeing them in action was another thing. Ten couldn’t help but laugh more at Jaehyun’s own, bright red and particularly ugly, but soft and made with love.

A few cups of cider and hot chocolate later, they had finished their gingerbread house. Jaehyun even went as far as crushing up some peppermint candy and dusting it over the house with a satisfied grin.

Throughout the night, he had definitely relaxed, as more and more people approached their table to thank him for his time and interest in the benefit. Despite his adamance that he was here as Ten’s date first and foremost, he smiled and spoke with elegance, the way a proper prince would. It was times like these that Ten remembered just how serious the royal family was, how Jaehyun’s life went beyond partying and being called prince.

“You look really cozy,” Jaehyun said, leaning his head in his hand and sighing.

“Tired, crown prince?” Ten teased.

“Just... comfortable.” Jaehyun didn’t seem all that embarrassed to admit it, which was a win in Ten’s opinion. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to do something like this. Even if people recognized me, there wasn’t that pressure to impress anybody.... It sounds stupid.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Ten said, reaching across the table to take Jaehyun’s free hand in his own two and clasp it tenderly. “You look really happy, hyung. And I’m happy when you’re happy.”

“How are you so cheesy all the time?” Jaehyun said, laughing when Ten looked offended for a second. “I’m joking. I’m.... Thanks.”

“For?”

“For letting me have a day with you.” There was that sheepishness in his tone again, like Jaehyun wasn’t used to saying these kinds of things to people. Ten let him take his time to speak again. “For dealing with me earlier. I’m sorry, by the way.”

“It’s  _okay._ You just had me worried.”

“I just feel like we should be doing something... meaningful for every day we have left.”

“You’re so much sometimes,” Ten said. “You know it’s enough to just spend time with you. Be with you. It’s  _you,_ hyung.”

Jaehyun nodded, let out a quiet thanks, just as Ten snorted and started picking up their things. He handed Jaehyun the gingerbread house, as Jaehyun hesitated and handed it back.

“I, er, have to do something before we go. I’ll meet you out there?”

“Sure,” Ten agreed easily, taking the gingerbread house in his arms and carrying it outside, saying goodbye to Taeyong and promising to text him later.

Jaehyun didn’t walk outside for a few minutes. Ten watched him talking to Taeyong inside, handing Taeyong a slip of paper and bowing a few times. Taeyong looked at the paper, eyes going wide and immediately shaking his head, trying to give it back, but Jaehyun put his hand up, his very princely mannerisms taking over. Taeyong nodded, took the slip in his hands and looked down at it. Then Jaehyun came out, smiling at Ten and taking the gingerbread house out of Ten’s hands.

“Was that a check?” Ten asked once they were a safe distance from the mall. Jaehyun hummed before nodding his head easily.

“A donation, on behalf of the royal family.”

“But the royal family wasn’t here, you were.”

“Yes, well,” Jaehyun looked away, sniffling slightly, “my actions reflect my family’s, so it doesn’t really matter. Anyway, yes. It was a donation.”

“For a lot of money, huh?”

“I don’t know what ‘a lot’ measures up to for you,” Jaehyun said, to which Ten reached over and pinched his side.

“Smartass.” Ten paused to reach into Jaehyun’s pocket, grabbing the car keys and quickly unlocking the doors. Jaehyun furrowed his brows when Ten opened the front seat first, grabbing the gingerbread house from Jaehyun’s arms and setting it down in his seat. He furrowed them even more when Ten opened the doors to the backseat, crowding Jaehyun against the opening before pushing him in and crawling over his legs, closing the door behind him.

“Ten, what are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Ten replied coquettishly, pressing the button to lock the car before tossing the keys up front and leaning over to kiss Jaehyun, feverish and hot in the small space of the backseat. Jaehyun let out a moan of surprise, eyes wide as Ten curled his fingers in the collar of his sweater and pushed it away to trail kisses down his neck, biting at one spot and drawing a long moan from Jaehyun.

“W-wait, in the car?!” Jaehyun said, voice hushed, as if someone walking by could hear them. It was late enough that nobody was walking by, and even if they did, the windows were tinted, and Ten honestly didn’t even care if they could see them. It sent a thrill down his spine, if he was being truthful.

“Don’t wanna wait ‘till we get back,” Ten said, voice all breathy.

Ten was already straddling Jaehyun’s hips, pulling his sweater and shirt off over his head in one fell swoop and tossing it in the driver’s seat, mindful of the gingerbread house. Lying on his back like this, Jaehyun can revel in every inch of Ten’s beautiful body, his skin almost completely unmarked other than a few freckles here and there. Jaehyun can only vaguely see him under the shitty lighting from the streetlamp outside, but it’s enough to appreciate him.

“We can stop,” Ten said, leaning down again to catch Jaehyun’s lips in a kiss, dipping his tongue past Jaehyun’s lips only for a moment. “If you don’t want to, or if you really want to wait until we go to your place, we can stop.”

“No,” Jaehyun interjected, almost embarrassingly quick. “No, I’m okay with it. Just— are you sure? In the car?”

“Well, I would’ve preferred your limo, but beggars can’t be choosers, right?”

And the thought alone of having Ten in the backseat of his limo, undressed and flushed and shaking from need,  _begging_ because Ten just  _had_ to use that word in this fucking context— it made Jaehyun’s cock twitch in his pants.

“Besides, it’s kinda adventurous, isn’t it? What if someone sees us, Jaehyunie?”

It was the first time Ten ever used that pet name, and if it were anybody else trying to pull that name off in this context, Jaehyun was pretty sure he’d laugh right in their face. But it wasn’t anybody else, it’s Ten, all seduction and soft curves and a smile on his face as he said it. Jaehyun didn’t think he’d really be all that into someone else seeing him, but there’s an obviously scandalous tone to it that makes Jaehyun whine.

“Someone walking by just looks in and sees the crown prince fucking an escort?” Ten said, the words coming way too easy. Jaehyun had the right mind to be embarrassed, but didn’t care, as Ten started rolling his hips, lifted Jaehyun’s hands from his sides to his hips and squeezing, silently telling him to hold on. “Making me beg for your cock inside of me? How scandalized the royal family would be that their precious crown prince would  _ever_ do something like that.”

Jaehyun couldn’t help the reactions his body was having, getting hard just at the sound of Ten’s filthy voice. The way he was moving did absolutely  _nothing_ to quell his desire either, and god, just thinking of the fact that they were out there in public doing this kind of thing— Jaehyun moaned outright, cutting off any train of thought he had.

Ten reached down, grabbed the bag he had brought with him and fished out a bottle of lube.

“What— you  _knew_ you wanted this?” Jaehyun said, almost laughing. Ten did laugh, holding it in his hands and rolling the bottle in his palms to warm it up.

“I mean, I was  _hoping_ you’d fuck me. Didn’t really matter if it was in the car or not, but I like being prepared.” With that, Ten also pulled out a few condoms and set them down on the floor of the car. Jaehyun couldn’t keep his laughter in anymore, sitting up and pulling Ten in for short, chaste kisses.

“You’re deplorable. You know that, right?”

“‘Course, but you’re enabling me,” Ten pointed out. Jaehyun lifted his arms up easily when Ten made to pull his sweater off over his head, tugging it off and throwing it in the front seat too. Jaehyun’s shirt underneath was a button up, Ten easily undoing the buttons and pushing it off in a frantic rush. Jaehyun enabled him again, slid the shirt off and let it fall behind him before pulling Ten into his lap and kissing him. All teeth, tongue— a bite here or there that made Ten whimper and open his mouth for Jaehyun to take more from him, have all of him if he wanted it.

Trying to maneuver the tiny space of the car was harder than expected. Like, Ten thought about opening the door once or twice just to get into the position he needed to be in and then closing it, but obviously didn’t. The steam building up on the windows was expected, but Ten smiled anyways, couldn’t wait to be as cliche as he’s always wanted to be and leave a handprint on the window.

(Okay, maybe he watched Titanic one too many times. Xiaojun always said he was a stupid romantic.)

Ten had managed to slide his pants off, tossing them in the back window along with his boxer shorts, bunched up in a rush to get naked already.

Except, Jaehyun had other plans, as Ten went to unzip the fly of his jeans, and instead, felt Jaehyun grabbing onto his thighs and urging him closer. Jaehyun didn’t look like he was in all that much of a comfortable position, but Ten listened, until he was straddling Jaehyun’s chest and looking down at him. Jaehyun opened his mouth, took Ten’s hardening cock between his lips, before looking up at him and urging him to rock his hips forward.

And, really, Ten would be a fool to not take complete advantage of the fact that Jung Jaehyun, royal crown prince, wanted Ten to fuck his face. Pure and simple, to the point, that’s what was happening here, but Ten still needed a moment to process it. Jaehyun’s cheeks hollowed, as he rubbed the head of Ten’s cock against his cheek, before Ten saw just the outline of it inside of Jaehyun’s mouth and moaned, so pathetically turned on.

“Fuck, y-you’re okay with that?”

As if it was an answer, Jaehyun rolled his eyes and jerked Ten’s hips forward once, let his cock just barely brush against the back of his throat. Jaehyun thanked god for small mercies that Ten wasn’t  _that_ big, considering how inexperienced he was.

After an experimental thrust, Ten built up a slow pace, rocking his hips forward just enough to feel Jaehyun’s tongue brushing against every ridge of his cock, swallowing around him while he was pulling back out, slurping with the action.  _Fuck,_ Ten whimpered, tried his best not to do too much all at once, because this was Jaehyun’s first time doing anything like this. Even though Jaehyun was an overachiever and liked to make sure he put his all into something for the first time, Ten knew he had to be gentle.

Jaehyun trailed his hands up to the small of Ten’s back, pushing him closer as Ten dropped his hands from his sides to lace in Jaehyun’s hair. Ten knew it wasn’t a very  comfortable position for Jaehyun to be in, neck craned in a way that would  _definitely_ ache by the time they were finished, but Jaehyun just moaned against Ten’s cock as soon as he felt his fingers in his hair, tugging lightly.

The sensation of Jaehyun moaning on his cock felt like just a touch too much, his body immediately reacting as he trembled and jumped forward, out of pace. Jaehyun hummed again, as if in sudden satisfaction that he had discovered one of Ten’s weak spots, and that earned another stuttered thrust of his hips.

“F-fuck, fuck, oh my god,” Ten whimpered, leaning forward and using one hand to prop himself up against the window. Like this, he could look down and watch his cock slide into Jaehyun’s hot mouth, his tongue sliding out and massaging the sensitive spots underneath while Ten fucked himself to the brink of his orgasm. Normally, this would be right around the time Ten would be warning Jaehyun, trying to pull out and off of him, but Jaehyun almost could tell, with how Ten’s voice hitched, his breathing rapid and off kilter.

“I’m gonna come, Jaehyunie, I’m gonna come.”

Despite the warning, Jaehyun didn’t stop. In fact, he moaned again, tried his best to swallow around Ten and hollow his cheeks.

“Oh, oh—  _oh,_ my god—” Ten whined low in his throat as he came, grinding his hips dirty and slow to get every inch of friction he could from Jaehyun’s mouth as he rode his orgasm out.

Ten pulled his cock out of Jaehyun’s mouth slow, whimpered in overstimulation, and looked down to see some of his cum had slipped past Jaehyun’s lips, dripping down his chin as Jaehyun moved to swipe it off of his face. Ten shook his head, immediately moving off of Jaehyun and sitting him up to lick the drop of it from his chin, up into his mouth, and sucking on his tongue with a filthy groan of satisfaction.

“You let me fuck your face, you  _swallowed,”_ Ten said, overwhelmed as he licked into Jaehyun’s mouth, tasted the faint bitterness of his cum still on Jaehyun’s tongue.

For a moment, Ten thought,  _well, there goes the plans for the lube,_ as he made to undo the zipper on Jaehyun’s pants for the second time, only to be stopped  _again,_ as Jaehyun caught Ten’s attention and shook his head.

“What? You don’t want me to?”

“Just— just hold on,” Jaehyun said, and left it as vague as that.

Scooting back on the seats, Jaehyun ordered Ten to get on his knees as best he could given the cramped space in the car, and after a moment, Ten said, “Do you want me to move the seat up? I can see the button,” and Jaehyun didn’t know what else to say other than yes, so he watched Ten reach out and push the button to move the car up, slow and mechanical, and it was just... funny to watch.

So Jaehyun burst into laughter and leaned back against the car door with an inelegant laugh. Ten couldn’t help but laugh too, finally getting the seat pushed all the way up and almost completely out of the way. Jaehyun did the same on his side, gave them a little more breathing room, but not  _too_ much.

“If you weren’t so impatient, I could’ve just driven us home and we could’ve been doing this in bed,” Jaehyun said, sounding particularly out of breath, as he reached blindly for the bottle of lube and the condoms Ten had set down a while back. First he found the lube, which, all things considered, was the more important part.

Ten opted to ignore the way Jaehyun said “home” instead of “my place”, and “bed” instead of “my bed”, omitting those little nuances that made the difference between domesticity and casual hooking up. Even though Ten was sure Jaehyun thought of him as more than an escort, there was an unspoken rule of not bringing up whatever it was they  _really_ were.

“Yeah, but we can have sex in a bed  _whenever._ When’s the next time you’ll be able to fuck me in a car?”

It was meant to be lighthearted, but just reminded Jaehyun of the fact that he’d be leaving in another two weeks.

Jaehyun fumbled with the lube bottle for a moment before Ten turned just slightly and opened it himself, gave Jaehyun an affectionate roll of the eyes before returning to his slightly-off hands and knees position. Jaehyun squeezed a healthy dollop of it onto his fingers, let it drip down past his knuckles before pulling his fingers apart and watching it web just slightly, the strings breaking midway.

“I’ve... never done this,” Jaehyun said, voice small.

Ten let out a scandalized, “Oh, Jaehyunie, I’m so surprised,” before wiggling his ass just slightly. Jaehyun playfully smacked his thigh with his free hand, ignored how Ten froze involuntarily before speaking again.

“I’ll talk you through it, then, babe,” Ten said, and it was completely out of context, and Jaehyun probably should have laughed, but all he could manage was a short smile before letting out a hum of affirmation, listening to Ten. “Put some more lube here.”

Ten reached behind himself with one hand, the other keeping him propped up just enough to show Jaehyun what he meant. He spread his cheeks easily, put himself on full display. Jaehyun squeezed the lube bottle over Ten’s hole, watched it pool before dripping down just a little. Jaehyun involuntarily moved his hand, swept it up with the tips of his fingers and rubbed it across Ten’s asshole again.

“Go slow,” Ten instructed. “Just try your first finger, up to your knuckle.”

Jaehyun listened, careful of his touches, just a little too gentle. After an impatient huff, Jaehyun pushed his finger in to the first knuckle with little resistance. Jaehyun’s fingers were much longer and more slender than Ten’s own, so Ten clenched around his first finger with a soft breath.

“Second finger,” Ten said, paused, “it’s easier if you pull your first one out and try sliding them in at the same time.”

Again, Jaehyun did as he was told, using part of his common sense on how fast or slow he should go, judging by Ten’s little noises here and there. After a minute, Jaehyun had his middle and ring finger inside of Ten, sweeping around and finally finding Ten’s prostate. Jaehyun wanted to press down, see what kind of reaction it would draw from him, but instead, brushed the pads of his fingers against it, before sliding the two out and looking to Ten for whether or not he should do three.

“I think we can manage,” Ten said. “Two is fine.”

Jaehyun nodded and blindly searched for the condom packages on the floor after unzipping his pants and shoving them down along with his boxers down to the middles of his thighs. He finally grabbed one and easily tore it open with his teeth, his hands far too slick to get a solid grip on anything. Pinching the tip, Jaehyun quickly slid it on over his cock, hard from just listening to Ten, touching him, feeling him.

“Is this position okay?” Jaehyun said, as he awkwardly scrambled up on what little space was left in the backseat of the car. Ten laughed, looked over his shoulder towards Jaehyun.

“There’s not really a whole lot of options in a car, but yeah, I think this is okay. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun said, out of breath once he finally got his position right, just holding himself up over Ten. “Just let me know if I’m hurting you. Or if you’re uncomfortable.”

Ten decided not to be sarcastic, considering it looked like Jaehyun was really concerned. He nodded, leaned his forehead on the very uncomfortable plastic of the door, and waited. Ten let out a long breath once he felt Jaehyun pushing his cock inside of him, his wet slick hole accommodating for the thickness and taking all of him. Ten bent his knees, let Jaehyun lean over him just a little more, and  _oh,_ there was a good position. Not the most ideal, but again, they were having sex in a car, Ten didn’t expect the kama-sutra to get reenacted or anything.

Like this, Jaehyun could rest his body on Ten’s, fucked into him slow and steady at first. Ten could feel every movement behind him, every flex of muscle in Jaehyun’s body as he kept himself upright. Ten moved a little to help, rocked his hips back to hit Jaehyun’s at the same time and earn a sharp moan. Ten bit his lip when he remembered they were in a car, and if someone was passing by, they would definitely hear him.

Ten never tried to come more than once, mostly because he  _had_ tried a few times before, and it never worked out. And most of his clients never could work him up twice in a row, so he figured it just wasn’t for him and moved on. But with Jaehyun fucking into his hole, and the way his cock rubbed against the leather material of the seat underneath him, the slide made better by sweat, he figured a second orgasm wasn’t far off, if Jaehyun kept thrusting the way he was.

Jaehyun was the first to break, talking low as he used one hand to grab Ten by his hips, holding him in place as he jerked his hips sudden and fucked into him.

“S-so tight, Ten. It’s hot, it’s really hot.”

Taking it as encouragement, Ten clenched around Jaehyun, earned a hiss of pleasure as he smiled and looked over his shoulder. Jaehyun got a better position, finally stable enough to snap his hips forward after warning Ten, and hitting Ten’s prostate. Ten had to use one hand against the door to brace himself, but used the other to bite down on, pleasure rushing through his core as he felt Jaehyun pull out, thrust in again to hit his prostate, pull out again— fucking him senseless and building up his second orgasm. Despite the way his leg was kind of cramping up given their tight positions, Ten could ignore it as pleasure rippled down his spine.

“Fuck, you look so good taking my cock, you should  _see,”_ Jaehyun said, completely unabashed. The visual of his dick sliding in and out of Ten had Jaehyun’s orgasm creeping up as well, unable to handle the visuals and the sounds, the sweat slick of skin hitting skin and Ten stifling himself so nobody would hear, nobody would see.

Jaehyun slumped over Ten’s body when his muscles just couldn’t take it, couldn’t hold him up in the right position anymore, but this one wasn’t worse, just had Ten realizing how hot it was in the car, their skin sticking as Jaehyun started to grind his hips dirty into Ten’s ass.

“You’re so fucking tight, Ten, so hot, you’re gonna make me  _come.”_ It was sort of a warning, but Ten didn’t care, wanted more of the praise Jaehyun was showering him with before he came. So Ten turned to see Jaehyun’s face just over his shoulder, straining to reach each other and make out over Ten’s shoulder. It was really probably the most uncomfortable position Ten could have put himself in, but he figured since Jaehyun let him fuck his face in one of those very compromising positions earlier, he owed it to him.

Biting on Jaehyun’s bottom lip, Ten laved his tongue over the spot and moaned into Jaehyun’s mouth. His breathing had already ramped up a minute earlier, muscles going taut with his orgasm right on the tips of his toes, as he trembled and shuddered.

“Wanna hear you,” Jaehyun said, using one hand to press his fingers at the seam of Ten’s lips, before parting them and pressing his fingers down on the flat of Ten’s tongue. Ten groaned, long, so fucking desperate, as his hips jerked against the sweat sticky material of the seats, before coming untouched. Every flex of his hips earned another string of cum, spurting out against his stomach and the seats.

“I can  _feel_ you coming, fuck—  _fuck,_ ” was all Jaehyun could manage before thrusting a few more times and coming, hot and sudden. Distantly, Ten remembered Jaehyun had worn a condom, couldn’t tell if he was thankful or not for that fact. All they could hear now was the sound of the winter winds whipping around the car outside, and their combined panting breaths, bodies exhausted from the positions they were in.

When Jaehyun pulled out, Ten fell into a boneless heap on the seat underneath him, sighing deep and even deciding to make a show of clenching around the emptiness of his hole.

“You’re really just so deplorable, Ten.”

Jaehyun had to pretend the sight wasn’t instantly turning him on, as he tied off his condom and tried to think of a place they could toss it. Leaving it in the car most certainly wasn’t an option, until Jaehyun found a small bundle of tissues and balled it up in there.

While Jaehyun tried dressing himself again, Ten didn’t make any moves to do anything, just humming pleasantly to himself and turning over only to wipe away the cum on his stomach and the seat.

“Are you seriously not gonna get dressed?” Jaehyun said. Ten pursed his lips, earned a roll of Jaehyun’s eyes before he was ducking down and kissing him again. Ten pulled Jaehyun in by his shoulders, keeping him in position long enough to slide his tongue past Jaehyun’s lips and savor the taste of him on his tongue.

“I’ll put something on before we get back, but I don’t wanna go home.”

“So you can come home with me,” Jaehyun said easily, like it was the most obvious solution in the world.

“And if I want you to fuck me again when we get there?”

“Jesus, what kind of stamina do you have?” Jaehyun said, laughing soft as Ten did the same.

“I’m insatiable, so what are you gonna do?”

“Mm, maybe I’ll take you home and we can do something before we go to bed,” Jaehyun reasoned. “Then we’ll wake up and take a bath, and maybe I’ll even make you breakfast in the morning. We’ll drink coffee and sit in the sunroom watching the sunrise like old couples do.”

Ten bit back the bitterness that came with thinking of what happened afterwards, how Jungwoo would drive him home and he and Jaehyun would go back to short texts exchanged in small moments they had for themselves and nobody else. How selfish it was, Ten thought, that he wanted a prince all for himself, when he had seen how great he was with people just an hour earlier.

But Ten would let him be a little selfish for as long as he could, until Jaehyun left, because every day they spent together was just another tick against the time they had left. He could afford to be selfish for now.

  
  
  
  


In the dead silence of the family compound, Jaehyun sat at the dinner table, papers spread out in front of him, stained with rings from his coffee mugs, as he leaned over and sighed long. Ten hadn’t replied to his last few texts, so he was probably busy, and that left Jaehyun with absolutely nothing else to distract him from these stupid papers in front of him.

Jungwoo wasn’t home, but Jaehyun hadn’t seen Yukhei around either, so he wondered if the two had managed to work out their differences before Jungwoo left. More than once, Jaehyun wondered if he should have told Jungwoo to stay instead, but figured it would be a little insulting to assume that Jungwoo couldn’t make his own decisions. He was an adult, after all. Just because Jaehyun knew a little more than he should have about his love life didn’t mean he had any right to dictate what Jungwoo did and didn’t do with himself.

Jaehyun didn’t realize he was sighing again until he heard a laugh from the entrance of the dining room, immediately sitting up and looking for the source. It was Gongymung, standing at the door, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the doorframe with a smile.

“Prince,” Jaehyun said, immediately bowing his head. Gongmyung hadn’t taken the time to speak to him in weeks. As far as Jaehyun was concerned, this was as close to conversation they had gotten. Gongmyung’s smile softened, as he pushed himself off of the doorframe and walked to the dining table, taking a seat across it. Jaehyun uneasily sat up, organizing his papers.

“Having a hard time preparing for the trip, little brother?”

Jaehyun furrowed his brows, shook his head.

“No, just... distracted.”

“I know, I can hear you sighing all the way upstairs.”

“My apologies,” said Jaehyun, still cautious. His voice was soft, careful. Gongmyung wasn’t a dangerous person, but as of late, he wasn’t exactly the most welcoming either. Jaehyun had practically resigned himself to his fate of not having a brother to talk to ever again, so this was... odd, to say the least? And Jaehyun wasn’t one to tiptoe around the issue much either, so instead, he squinted at Gongmyung and said, “I’m sorry, but didn’t you hate every fiber of my being a week ago?”

“That’s a bit over dramatic, Jaehyunie,” Gongmyung said, feigned offense. “Was I hurt? Yes. But I’ve definitely had the time to mull it over. I wanted to apologize, anyways. For the way I treated you.”

“Uh huh,” Jaehyun said. Gongmyung rolled his eyes with a gentle laugh.

“I don’t expect you to trust me yet. I... haven’t had to deal with what you have as second crown prince.” Gongmyung shrugged. “And with how mother and father have been going about picking an heir, I think I finally saw how much being crown prince means to you.”

“You’ve been raised to want the same things I have. Don’t pretend you haven’t wanted the throne as much as I do.” Jaehyun decided to leave off the fact that Gongmyung probably deserved it more than Jaehyun did, worked himself to the bone for it, while Jaehyun longed and wanted and needed, but never quite knew why.

“Oh, I know,” Gongmyung said, leaning back in his seat. “I’m definitely not giving up the throne so easily, but I’m not going to sacrifice the relationship I have with my brother over it either.”

At this, Jaehyun let out a small noise of surprise, straightening his posture in his seat.

“We were brothers before the throne ever even existed. We’ll be brothers when it’s long gone.”

It was simple, short, the way Gongmyung always spoke when he had something important to say. Never really dawdled with words much because he was so good at getting his point across, where Jaehyun always stumbled and stuttered and needed a moment to gather himself.

“Thank you. And... I’m sorry.”

Gongmyung nodded, smiled at Jaehyun again before resting his chin in his hand and cocking a brow.

“So... the escort.”

“Ten,” Jaehyun supplied.

“Yes. What will happen there?”

Jaehyun tensed, looked down at the papers in front of him, all haphazardly scribbled with his initials and little notes in the margins. No matter how flooded they were with words, they didn’t contain any answer Jaehyun was looking for, so he just sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t know. We planned on ending it when the time came, but counting down the time we have left just seems to have made it harder.”

“Is that what’s got you all huffy?” Gongmyung said, laughing when Jaehyun flushed in embarrassment. He didn’t even try hiding it, just nodding his head silently and looking away. “I knew it. You’ve always been like that, ever since you were little.”

“Like what?” Jaehyun said, defensive.

“Whenever you’ve liked someone, you get all... flustered. You don’t know how to deal with it.”

“This is a little different than the crushes I had when I was thirteen,” Jaehyun replied. Gongmyung laughed into his hand.

“Mm, it is a little different, isn’t it? You’ve spent an awful lot of time with him.” Gongmyung leaned to the side to catch Jaehyun’s gaze, his attention. “More than you would just an escort.”

“I thought we already established I’m a fool.” Jaehyun kept his voice low out of shame.

“There’s nothing foolish about falling in love.”

“The very  _act_ of falling in love is foolish,” came Jaehyun’s sharp response. “All of it is.”  _I’ve seen the repercussions of it._

“Perhaps it is. It’s a fairly unreasonable emotion,” Gongmyung said, countering Jaehyun’s irritation with a tranquil tone of voice. “Makes reasonable people do unreasonable things.”

“I get it,” Jaehyun said.

“Do you regret having spent your time with him?” Gongmyung asked. Jaehyun furrowed his brows, easily answered with “no”, no trace of hesitation in even the tone of his voice. At this, Gongmyung hummed, shaking his head. “And you won’t, even to the very end. So just appreciate the feeling for now. Before it’s gone, you fool.”

Gongmyung said the last bit laced with affection, and truly, nothing he said wasn’t anything Jaehyun didn’t already know, but hearing it reinforced was nice. Talking to his own brother again was nice. Having the family home feel like a home again was  _nice._

But having Ten texting him back a little while after Gongmyung had taken his leave, after Jaehyun organized his papers and began to gather them up and head home, followed by the sound of his phone ringing with a phone call from Ten— it was what Jaehyun needed, before tapping his thumb on the green answer button, and smiling as he said, “hello?”

  
  
  
  


The day before Jaehyun was scheduled to leave was packed from top to bottom with debriefings, his father showing no hesitation to praise Jaehyun in front of all his colleagues, boasting of how proud he was, what a great job he had done raising Jaehyun to become the heir to the throne. Jaehyun wondered throughout the day, how many times his father would say the same of Gongmyung, when it was Gongmyung’s turn to prove himself, to prolong the process of naming a proper heir again, the way their parents always did.

Whenever Jaehyun caught a spare chance to glance at his phone, he would shoot off a message to Ten. They hadn’t planned on doing anything serious. No dinners, no dates, no last minute send-offs or teary eyed goodbyes at the plane departure. Jaehyun did offer to bring Ten to the terminal, to see him off, but Ten had hiccuped at the mention of it, awkwardly declined and said he had to work that day, even though he sounded less than confident about it.

They were to meet whenever Jaehyun finished packing his things and organizing himself for the trip, which meant later than expected, nearing 8pm by the time Jaehyun zipped up the last of his uniforms. Jungwoo had long since packed most of his essentials, easily rounded the corner to Jaehyun’s room and waited with a patient smile on his face.

“Would you like me to drive to Ten’s?” he offered when Jaehyun quirked a brow at him. Jaehyun easily accepted, figured he needed the support, as he texted Ten to let him know he’d be there soon. Jaehyun just replied with a short “ok!” and Jaehyun couldn’t think of bringing himself to say anything else.

Already, his stomach was in knots at the idea of seeing Ten and saying goodbye. Jaehyun didn’t have a set time they’d be away, which he expected. After all, his father promised last time he would have been back in time to pick an heir, and yet, didn’t return until almost two months after the fact, whenever he decided he was ready. And while Jaehyun knew what he was signing up for, a part of him couldn’t stand the thought of waking up, expecting to go home, only for his father to change his mind and bring him along someplace else.

But it was what had to be done. He couldn’t back down now. Even Johnny was coming along. So it wasn’t going to be so bad....

The drive there made Jaehyun feel nauseous, staring at the familiar streets and clenching his jaw unknowingly every time they made a turn closer towards Ten’s apartment complex. By the time they reached it, Jaehyun had his fists bunched up in the cloth of his pants, palms clammy, trembling. Jungwoo looked in the rearview mirror, cleared his throat.

“Would you like me to escort you there?”

“No,” Jaehyun said. If he couldn’t handle walking up there alone, he surely couldn’t have handled seeing Ten alone. So, he gathered what was left of his courage, swallowed it down along with the budding nausea in the back of his throat, before finally opening the car door and slipping out. When he pressed the button to Ten’s apartment, Ten buzzed him in without hesitation, so much as a question.

Jaehyun was sure he had walked into the elevator and jabbed the button to Ten’s floor, but found himself standing outside of Ten’s apartment door before he realized it. He blinked, as if coming out of a daze, and knocked on the door three times. A moment later, footsteps approached the door, and then it swung open, revealed Ten in a dark sweatshirt and jeans.

“Do you want to come in?” Ten sounded uneasy, as if he weren’t sure how to go about this kind of thing. Honestly, Jaehyun wasn’t sure either, but he figured in the apartment would be the easiest way to go. He nodded, and Ten stepped aside to let him in, closing the door behind him.

Jaehyun kicked his shoes off, out of courtesy, and Ten followed him in.

“Xiaojun isn’t here. It’s just us.”

 _Oh, good, as if that alleviated any of the pressure,_ Jaehyun thought to himself, biting the inside of his cheek and nodding.

Ten sat down first, nervously tapping his fingers against his knees as Jaehyun took a seat on the chair to the right of him. Now that he was sitting in front of Ten, and this was a real, tangible thing, he couldn’t figure out what to say, what to do. All Jaehyun could think of was the fact that Ten was in front of him, nervous, like the first time they had met all over again— except this time, Jaehyun was feeling the same anxiety Ten was.

Jaehyun cleared his throat first, pretended like he had anything of worth to say.

“I really missed you,” was the first thing he could think to say, and Ten laughed, so bitterly, like he couldn’t believe that was what Jaehyun said at a time like this.

“This is a little weird,” Ten interjected. “Having you sitting here, so we can talk about you leaving. Most people would just call it quits and leave it at that.”

Except, they weren’t most people. Ten, maybe. An escort, sweetheart in Jaehyun’s eyes, a loving person deserving of respect and closure if he wanted it. And Jaehyun, a crown prince to a royal family in South Korea, readying himself to travel the world chasing a dream he wasn’t even sure if he wanted anymore.

“Yeah, it is weird.” Jaehyun twiddled his thumbs. For a moment, it felt very adolescent— the two sitting together, avoiding feelings and what it meant when they said goodbye.

Ten furrowed his brows for a moment, turned to face Jaehyun. There was a space between them, from the arms of the couch and the chair, awkward, but gave them enough comfort to speak how they wanted to, even though the words just didn’t come to mind. All they could do was sit in this moment they created, wanting to speak but having nothing worth saying. It was frustrating. Jaehyun wanted to cry from the feeling flooding the pit of his chest alone— anxiety setting in with a deep, uncomfortable  _ache_ in his chest.

“Gongmyung and I are speaking again,” Jaehyun started. “I’m not sure if Jungwoo and Yukhei are speaking, but Jungwoo seems... better?”

“That’s good.” Ten nodded. “All of it. It’s all good. What you said, I mean.”

Two lovers turned to strangers in the span of a moment.

“It’s— It’s bittersweet. Talking to Gongmyung. He said he still wants the throne, but it’s not as... threatening as it felt before?” Jaehyun paused, shaking his head. “When we talked about it before, it felt like life or death. Like, if I let Gongmyung even think for a moment he could have the throne, it meant losing my title.... I don’t know. We were talking about it the other night. We just went on about what we’d do as princes, and then kings. How we’d handle things.”

Honestly, this was about the last thing Ten wanted to talk about, but if it meant keeping Jaehyun around for a little while longer, he listened, nodded along.

“Could I ask you something?” Jaehyun said. Ten let out a hum of confirmation. “Johnny said something to me a while back, and.... Well, he said if the people in my life now, wanted to be in my life later, they would find a way back to me.”

Jaehyun caught Ten’s attention, didn’t miss how his eyes were glossy under his dark locks of hair, how Ten tried to hide his face so subtly, but gave himself away so easily instead.

“After this tour with my father is over,” Jaehyun chose his words carefully, “after I’m back, would you try to find your way back to me?”

Jaehyun felt like he was bearing every part of him to Ten, something he never thought he’d do. And Ten could tell, could feel the honesty in the pit of his chest, as an expression of sad adoration swept over his face. In a moment, Ten had his forehead pressed against Jaehyun’s, closing the space between them and sharing the same breath. The closeness was familiar, comforted Jaehyun for a moment as he shuddered out a breath and felt his own eyes welling up.

“Remember one of the first times we had met, after your family invited me to the party, and that... person attacked you?”

Jaehyun remembered it pretty vividly, as the spot where he had to get stitches ached with the reminder.

“I was so worried about you, and I barely knew you, crown prince.”

The sound of the name hit Jaehyun in his chest, like Ten was already preparing himself to let Jaehyun go.

“I had to argue with you just to for you to let me help. I remember... thinking how casual it all seemed. How that person was just thrown out, or whatever it is that happened to them, and everyone just went on with the party. Like it was normal for you to get hurt like that.”

Ten moved to clasp one of Jaehyun’s hands in his own, opening his palm and staring down at it, tracing his fingers over the lines of his skin and sighing.

“Now that I know you, I have that feeling constantly. As if you’re going to get hurt all the time, and I won’t be able to do anything about it besides clean up the mess. I can’t do it.”

Jaehyun clenched his eyes shut, tried his damndest to keep the tears budding in his eyes from falling, but then did anyways, right into the open palm of his hand.

“I know I’m the one that insisted helping you when I was first called.” Ten sniffled, was already crying as he pulled his hand away to wipe a few stray tears from his eyes. “I know I’m the one that bothered you most, but I.... I can’t do this. It’s too much for me.”

“Is it me?” Jaehyun said. “Am I too much?”

“No, stupid,” Ten said, pulled away to push Jaehyun’s shoulder like he was annoying him and gave the weakest of laughs as he spoke. “You’re just right, but your family... this whole crown prince thing, it’s.... I’m not used to it, I think.” Ten shook his head. “I don’t know if I’d be able to get used to it. Even after you come back, what are we supposed to do? Mess around until you have to leave again?”

At this, Ten hiccupped, really started crying and sniffled alongside his quiet sobs. He tried in a futile attempt to wipe his eyes, stop the tears, as he buried his face in the sleeves of his sweatshirt.

“This is so stupid,” he mumbled into the fabric of his shirt. “Why couldn’t you just— just break my heart or do something to make me hate you before you leave?”

Ten’s voice rose with volume, but it wasn’t anger in his voice— desperation laced in with his words, as he cried harder.

“Can’t you already hate me for leaving you?” Jaehyun said. “Find something in that?”

“How could I hate you for doing what you’ve been chasing after your whole life?” Ten pulled his sleeves from his face, eyes and cheeks puffy from crying, eyes rimmed with red as he sniffled again. “I knew from the start, right? This is what you’ve always wanted. It just— it fucking hurts now.” Ten pouted, just slightly. “If you cheated on me or something, it would’ve made it a lot easier.”

“I’m... sorry?” Jaehyun said, laughed at the end of it because he couldn’t tell if that’s what Ten wanted from him. Still, Ten laughed a little, too, voice a little ragged from crying.

“Anyway....” Ten looked up at Jaehyun. “I... think I love you, but I can’t just keep having these blips in my life where you’re there, and the next, you’re gone.”

Jaehyun had a feeling he knew all along that would be Ten’s answer. It still didn’t hurt to ask, though.

“Besides, sometimes when we’re together, I still feel like I hardly know you.”

At this, Jaehyun furrowed his brows.

“It’s just little things here and there, hyung. When we talk sometimes, there’s these... moments where I’ll say something, and you’ll correct me, or you’ll say something that just doesn’t make sense to me.”

“What do you mean?” Jaehyun said. Ten let his shoulders rise with tension, searching for the words before finally spitting them out.

“When we were out that night, at the benefit,” he paused, sniffled, “and I said who cares if nobody liked you at it, and— well, you said you  _did_ care, because you’re a prince and you’re supposed to care about those kinds of things. I just can’t understand it, because we’re... different.”

“Of course we’re different,” Jaehyun replied, quick. “How could we be the same?”

“I don’t expect us to be the same, but there’s a point where it’s worrying. You have to think of everything you do before you do it, and I can’t do that. I’m not  _willing_ to do that.” Ten met Jaehyun’s gaze again. “Please, understand what I’m saying. Our lifestyles are too different to be together for more than... whatever it is we had.”

 _Whatever we had,_ that unspoken rule where they never labeled what they were, because they were both afraid if they put a label on it, it would suddenly cease to exist.

And the sound of the word  _had_ shot another arrow through Jaehyun’s heart, nearly tore it in two, because this was really the end of it all. This was really how Ten wanted to go about it.

“What if I don’t want to let you go?” Jaehyun said. Ten shook his head, lifted his hand from in front of him to cup Jaehyun’s cheek and sweep his thumb over the soft expanse of skin. Jaehyun keened into the touch, let his eyes fall shut with a slight furrow of his brow, trying to hold back another round of tears.

“That’s selfish. Crown princes  _aren’t_ selfish.”

Jaehyun wanted to be selfish. For once, he wanted to just think of himself. How  _he_ felt and the things  _he_ wanted and nobody else except for him and Ten. Selfish, indeed.

“You can’t even stay for tonight, right?” Ten looked back down. “You’re leaving early in the morning.”

“Yeah. We are.”

Despite saying he couldn’t stay, Jaehyun let Ten pull him over to the couch, laid down and pulled Ten into his side. Like this, he could run his fingers through Ten’s hair, hold onto him while Ten buried his face in the crook of Jaehyun’s neck.

“Sorry I’m gross when I cry.”

“Would you cut that out?” Jaehyun pinched Ten’s side. “You’re crying. You’re allowed to be gross.”

“Jus’ don’t want the magic to be gone....”

“What?” Jaehyun said, but Ten was already brushing it off.

Jaehyun was sure in less than ten minutes, Jungwoo would be calling him to remind him of the fact that it was almost time to head back. He was sure it was getting dark outside. He was almost sure it would be snowing later, when he got home, and he wouldn’t even be with Ten to hold him, hug him, cuddle in the cold weather. After Jaehyun walked out, that would be... it. So to speak.

For now, Jaehyun wanted to pretend, so he did. With Ten in his arms, he glanced over at the small Christmas tree Ten and Xiaojun had put up in their apartment, overly decorated with ornaments and drowning in tinsel and powdered snow from a can. Small gifts sat underneath the tree already.

The TV was on, muted, but casting dim lights across the living room the entire time as they spoke. Now that Jaehyun looked at it, it was some movie Ten had started but probably wouldn’t finish. Ten had told Jaehyun once or twice he had a bad habit of doing so.

And the heater wasn’t on, because Xiaojun always complained about running overly warm in the winter, while Ten was freezing, but Ten didn’t mind bundling up with blankets and comforters.

“Ten?” Jaehyun said, tried not to talk too loud, like his voice would ruin the moment. Ten hummed after a moment.

Whether it was the quiet way Ten replied, or the way his grip on Jaehyun’s shirt went slack, Jaehyun could tell Ten was tired. He had probably been worrying himself all day, just like Jaehyun. Making himself anxious and overthinking what he would say in the moment, when all that mattered was the fact that they were together one last time.

“I love you, too,” Jaehyun said. Ten didn’t respond. It took a moment to register to Jaehyun that he had fallen asleep, quiet breathing turning into soft snores. Jaehyun couldn’t help but smile, as he tried to shimmy out from underneath Ten; first his leg, then his arm, falling on the floor with a quiet thud and crawling away very inelegantly for a prince.

Jaehyun made sure to lock the door behind him after slipping his shoes on, couldn’t bring himself to look at Ten again. He was sure if he did, he’d feel weaker than he already did.

At the elevator, Jaehyun found himself staring at Ten’s roommate. He walked out, holding a few bags of groceries, before looking Jaehyun up and down, clear distaste in his expression.

“He’s asleep in there,” Jaehyun said. “Did you need help carrying those inside?”

“No, it’s fine,” Xiaojun replied, stopping to eye Jaehyun again with a petulant frown on his lips. “Did you two bite the bullet?”

“Yes,” Jaehyun said. “I’ll be leaving tomorrow. He said it’s probably for the best if we don’t try getting in touch again.”

“Oh,” Xiaojun said. That caught him off guard. “Like, even after you come back? Ever?”

Jaehyun nodded. “It’s for the best, I think. A royal family is unpredictable. He should have something stable.”

“Oh,” Xiaojun repeated, at a loss for words. The tone in his voice was a bit... surprised? Stunned that Jaehyun could admit the fact that he and his family were not an ideal choice in any sense of the word.

“I know you were never particularly fond of me, and that’s all right. But if you, or Ten, should ever need something, please,” Jaehyun paused to tug a card from the pocket of his jeans, handing it to Xiaojun, “don’t hesitate.”

Xiaojun hummed, took it and stuffed it in one of the grocery bags before nodding his head and giving Jaehyun another look up and down.

“If you ever want a normal life, you know where to find us,” Xiaojun said. Jaehyun snorted, nodded with a smile on his face.

“Thanks.”

Jaehyun didn’t say anything else, just took his leave after making sure Xiaojun got into the apartment without a problem. He could hear Ten snoring from down the hall, laughing to himself and leaning against the bar behind him in the elevator as it began its descent.

“How are you feeling, crown prince?” Jungwoo said, after he had started the car and pulled away from the curb, Jaehyun not bothering to buckle himself in. He leaned back in his seat with a heavy sigh, glanced out the window at the passing streetlights and shops he wouldn’t see for months on end.

“We’ll see,” Jaehyun said. Jungwoo quirked a brow, but didn’t press on it anymore. Whatever Jaehyun meant by that, Jungwoo supposed they would “see”.

Fishing his wallet from his pocket, Jaehyun opened it up, searching through a few of the compartments before finally digging out an old card, the corners bent from wear and tear, the ink still intact but little spots of stains littered across it. In the middle of it read, “  _Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul. Escort.”_ and a phone number underneath, alongside an email address.

Jaehyun rolled his window down, slipped his hand out through the open space, and opened his palm, to let the card flicker away in the wind.

  
  
  
  


Time seemed to move a lot faster as an adult, compared to how Jaehyun remembered time passing as a child. Counting down the months to his birthday and thinking that three months was the equivalent to a lifetime, and the day before felt like time decided to trudge along for the rest of it. Being told he could buy something in a few weeks time, and forgetting about it a few days later because that was how his mind worked. A year might as well have been a century to seven year old Jaehyun, itching to turn eight years old so he could finally start telling people he was a whole year older.

As an adult, months were... blips in a timeline that seemed to go on endlessly. Seeing an old friend a month ago meant having that moment where Jaehyun realized it  _has_ been that long, not just a few days back, as his mind had convinced him. A week would jump by and Jaehyun wondered how it was already Monday again, when Friday was just a few hours ago and Wednesday was lost in that gray area of  _I remember doing something on that day, but I also remember something else happening and now it’s all blurred together._

Much like time came and went, so did Jaehyun’s time spent with his father. It wasn’t actually a short tour— six months already, spent traveling the world, only stopping back home once to pay respects to a distant family relative that had passed, before continuing their work together. Jaehyun’s father mentioned it going on for at least another year, which made Jaehyun’s body feel exhausted just at the sound of it.

Jaehyun had a lot of second thoughts. More than he thought he would have. Every day that he packed his things and had to rub elbows with some high aficionados in another country, people who hardly even remembered his name, Jaehyun had another fleeting second thought, how useless he realized all this was to him. Who cared about a throne? Who cared about being called some pretty name that meant nothing to some people, meant the world to others?

But his father told him that was fairly normal for a young prince just starting to get the hang of what it truly meant to be royal, the responsibilities that came with earning the title, “crown prince”. So Jaehyun tried to take it in stride, didn’t complain to anybody else other than Jungwoo, and even then, felt like a bit of a brat. After all, he had taken Jungwoo from his home, away from Yukhei.

By the time Jaehyun and Jungwoo had returned to their conjoined rooms, Jaehyun was exhausted. His entire body ached, and he even thought he was getting a migraine.

Within a few minutes, Jungwoo was snoring soundly from the other side of the door, made Jaehyun smile.

Most nights, Jaehyun couldn’t even think of falling asleep until he was showered, cleaned up, and had some white noise on in the background to pass out to. Sometimes it was music. Other times, Jaehyun picked a movie or whatever seemed to be on the local channels. Didn’t particularly matter. But tonight, with how his head was throbbing and how his eyes seemed to strain at any sort of bright light, Jaehyun figured his best idea would be to wash his face and hop into bed as soon as possible.

But of course, things never really went the way Jaehyun ever planned them to, as he stood in the bathroom with the lights off, brushing his teeth half asleep, when somebody pounded on the door of their room. Jaehyun paused, waited for somebody to speak. Normally, if there was something urgent or pressing, one of his father’s assistants would be shouting through the door, or security would be urging them to open up.

Instead, the silence afterwards was followed by another frantic beating of the door. Jaehyun sighed, spit his toothpaste out, before walking out and heading towards the door. Jungwoo had turned over on the bed, rubbing his eyes of sleep.

“Wait, crown prince, I’ll answer,” Jungwoo said, voice rough with sleep. Jaehyun held his hand up to placate him, tightening the robe around his body before checking the peephole to find Yukhei standing in the hall. Just as Jaehyun furrowed his brows, Yukhei slammed his fists on the door again, at this point, security pushed him away just enough to warn him.

Jaehyun hardly hesitated to open the door, pulling it open as Yukhei looked up from where security held him back by his shirt.

“Let him go, he’s fine,” Jaehyun said, watched as Yukhei wretched his shirt from security, before brushing past Jaehyun, without so much as an apology or even a bow of his head. Honestly, it didn’t bother Jaehyun that much. He just wanted to go to bed.

But Jaehyun would’ve been an idiot to think this wasn’t a strange occurrence. They were thousands of miles away from South Korea, far from anywhere Yukhei should have been. The fact that he was there meant something had been bothering him— enough to follow them.

“Y.... Yukhei?” Jungwoo said. He still sounded tired, but that was quickly escaping him at the sight of Yukhei in front of him, standing at the end of the bed. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you.”

Jaehyun took that as his cue to leave, turning away and walking back to his room. With a loud huff, he threw himself down on the bed, curling up with the comforter and trying to ignore the conversation he most definitely should not have been listening to. It felt almost uncomfortably familiar, hearing the two talk so tenderly, so honestly, while Jaehyun wasn’t meant to hear any of it.

“All... all the way out here?” Jungwoo said. Jaehyun could hear the sound of his bed creaking. He was moving. Footsteps.

“Look,” Yukhei started, letting out a huff of breath, “I know I screwed up. I know I reacted badly. I shouldn’t have been so upset about it. I just.... Can you really blame me?”

“For what?” Jungwoo said. “For being angry at me for leaving?” He sighed. “No, I suppose I can’t.”

“No, not that. For... for the things I said about you. A-and the crown prince.” Yukhei sounded hushed, like he was ashamed. Again, Jaehyun really couldn’t have cared less. He just wanted to fall asleep. He was almost annoyed with himself for answering the door in the first place. Should’ve just let Jungwoo take care of it.

“Oh,” came Jungwoo’s short response.

“It’s just— like, sometimes you guys spend so much time together, and I just get  _jealous.”_

The tone in Yukhei’s voice was painfully honest. Like, Jaehyun felt like he could feel his words in the air, taste them on the back of his tongue, and it didn’t have anything to do with what he was saying, but how he said it.

“And then I came back after the whole thing with my family, and then you were  _leaving,_ and I didn’t know what to say, but I wanted you to stay so bad, Jungwoo.”

“Xuxi, maybe we should take this outside?” Jungwoo said. His voice sounded a little more near, as if checking on Jaehyun. “I’m sure the crown prince doesn’t want to hear any of this.”

“The crown prince doesn’t give a shit,” Jaehyun groused, flat tone and all. Jungwoo snickered, and Jaehyun couldn’t help but catch a few stray giggles from Yukhei as well, as they returned to the other side of the room, speaking a little lower than they were before. And it was a nice white noise to have, Jaehyun decided; better than any TV show or movie or radio station, he didn’t mind having the sound of Jungwoo and Yukhei apologizing to one another, before all three of them fell into a sound sleep.

  
  
  
  


“That’s the last of the boxes!” Ten shouted after Xiaojun, who was carrying a box of hangers upstairs, while Ten followed him, new apartment keys in hand. “Wait, let me walk in front of you, so Sooyun doesn’t get out.”

“Oh, smart idea,” Xiaojun said, as he stepped aside and let Ten walk in front of him. Thankfully, they had managed to find an apartment on the floor level of the apartment, didn’t have to climb up a million steps when the elevator was broken, or whenever they felt like they needed some more exercise.

Ten took the lead, speeding up opening door with the key, as Sooyun immediately burst into a flurry of yips and barks, too loud for her own good. Ten scooped her up in his arms, wriggling and trying to hop out of his arms to go to Xiaojun, who she had taken much more of a liking to. It made sense, though, considering Xiaojun was the one to find her and rescue her from under the bridge just a mile or two from their previous apartment.

With a sigh, Xiaojun tossed the box down, rubbing the back of his neck, as Ten let Sooyun go. She went to nip and bite at Xiaojun’s shoes, even as he stood still. Such a puppy, just like her owner.

“We should start unpacking before we get lazy and just learn to live around the boxes,” Ten said.

“What do you mean, ‘before’? I’ve already decided I’m cool with walking around them. That pile of boxes with my clothes can stay right there. Who needs a closet?”

“Shut up,” Ten said, snorting with a laugh. “What are you making for dinner?”

“Only the finest,” Xiaojun started, reaching into his drawstring bag and yanking out a handful of takeout menus with a wide grin on his face. “Straight from the most qualified chefs in Seoul to our dinner tables.”

“Amazing,” Ten replied, still smiling like an idiot. “I’ll start unpacking some shit if you order.”

“It’s like you read my mind,” Xiaojun said, already fishing his phone from his pocket and dialing in the number to one of the first menus had had pulled out.

  


A few hours later, they had managed to find and unpack the few boxes they had for their kitchen. Mismatched silverware and chipped dinner plates they never used, always stuck to paper plates  _anyways_ because neither of them really did dishes, and a few old mugs Xiaojun had bought when he went on vacation, but never actually used, because he wasn’t much of a coffee drinker unless it was a Starbucks seasonal drink.

It felt cozy, even though they were still surrounded by boxes, and Ten was sitting on the solid wood floor of the living room. Giving up their last apartment meant giving up most of their furniture, considering it was there when they moved in together, but Ten figured it wouldn’t last too long. Xiaojun had mentioned something about finding a  _really_ high paying customer, and Ten wasn’t exactly in the red either. As of late, he hadn’t taken as many clients as he usually did, but enough to cover his expenses, and then some.

They had to move from their last apartment because of Sooyun. Ten didn’t know Xiaojun was planning on bringing her home, so it was as much of a surprise to him as it was the landlord, when she decided to make a surprise visit after she received noise complaints from the neighbors. Ten never really liked them all that much anyways. Nosy bastards.

The new apartment was a lot nicer, so it wasn’t much of a loss. Plus, like he mentioned earlier, they got a floor level apartment, which meant even having a little yard for Sooyun to play around in when she wanted to go outside.

Winter had long since passed, now heading into mid to late spring. Ten watched the cherry blossom trees bloom all spring long, now blossoming into leaves and unripe cherries hanging off of the branches. There was one outside of the apartment, too, which was stupidly cute.

“Change the channel,” Ten said, nudging Xiaojun with his foot. Xiaojun grumbled with a mouthful of food, snatching up the remote and tapping through the channels a few times before settling on a local channel. The guide said it was one of the shows Xiaojun had been keeping up with, but the programming must have been wrong, as they listened to a reporter talking about the royal family. Immediately, Ten looked up, glanced at the screen, and took a double take when he realized it was Jaehyun gracing the screen with his presence.

Elegant and breathtaking as usual, Ten felt goosebumps litter his body. Xiaojun couldn’t have changed the channel any sooner, but by then, the momentary damage was done, as Xiaojun sighed and shook his head.

“Goddamnit,” Xiaojun grumbled.

“It’s okay, Xiaojun,” Ten replied, but Xiaojun knew better. They never talked about Jaehyun for a reason. They never brought up the royal family, not even how much Xiaojun loathed them, for a  _reason._ Seeing the one person from the royal family that would incite those feelings all over again was the opposite of what Xiaojun wanted for Ten. “Really. I’m just gonna have to get over it at some point.”

“Yeah, well,” Xiaojun paused, as if he was planning on making some great point about it. “Well, the media should have some consideration. Not all of us wanna know when, where, and why the royal family does the stupid shit they do.”

Ten couldn’t hold back the laugh at that, as he hid his face behind his hands and nodded in agreement. Still, despite Ten’s best efforts to keep from looking at the screen again, he did it anyways, found Jaehyun’s lips moving, as he spoke to a reporter, but his words were cut out. His hair looked so long, Ten thought, as he leaned back on the couch and stared back at Jaehyun, like Jaehyun would actually react or something.

“Is it weird seeing your ex on TV?” Xiaojun said. Ten snorted.

“He’s not my ex. We weren’t dating.”

_They were something. An undefined relationship that ached just like love would at the end, despite the insisting on both parties that it was not._

“Anyway, it’s not too bad. I mean, I knew he’s out doing this stuff. I didn’t expect him to just be static the entire time we were apart.”

Xiaojun hummed, looked at the screen again. Normally, his eyes would be furrowed, sneering or making some comment about how stupid the royal family was. Now, Xiaojun was just staring, eyeing Jaehyun before turning back to Ten.

“You don’t think you’ve been static the entire time either, right?”

Ten took a moment to think, which was enough of an answer for Xiaojun.

“You’re not static just because he’s out there touring the world.”

“I know,” Ten said, shrugging. “It’s just, y’know, by comparison. I haven’t really done much. We moved, so... that’s something?”

“And we adopted Sooyun,” Xiaojun corrected, didn’t give Ten the chance to agree, as he continued listing off things, “and you got that tattoo you’ve always wanted, and you  _did_ see another guy for a while. You even started studying for school again. That’s not  _nothing.”_

“I know,” Ten repeated, sheepish this time. “I just don’t think about that stuff like that most of the time. But yeah. Sometimes it’s a little weird to see Jaehyun on TV.”

“Do you ever think about talking to him?” Xiaojun said. Ten wanted to grimace and tell Xiaojun to buzz off, or at least mention that it was a little insensitive to be asking those types of questions, but.... Well, it had been  _months_ since he and Jaehyun had split up, and Xiaojun had the courtesy to not even mention it once. And it was Ten that said it was fine, he’d have to get over it. So Ten sighed and shook his head.

“No. I’m done with the royal family. They’re nothing but a headache to deal with.” Ten grabbed the remote from beside him, changed the channel. “Easier when I can just change the channel and forget about them.”

Xiaojun didn’t have anything smart to say in response to that, just nodded and turned his attention back to the TV screen, while Sooyun chewed on his slippers just a few feet away.

  


That was how Ten went about his business for the months that followed: spending time with Xiaojun, taking care of Sooyun, and making enough money to have a bit of a cushion. Studying was a slow and arduous process, more of a hobby than a focus of Ten’s, even though he knew he’d rather be in school than escorting, but that was just how things went, sometimes.

Summer rolled right along into fall, as the leaves turned orange and began falling off the trees in heaps. Xiaojun kicked them during their commute to the nearest Starbucks, Sooyun walking between them, her leash slack in Xiaojun’s hold.

“Did I tell you Taeyong asked me out?” Xiaojun said, made Ten choke on his spit in surprise. Sooyun barked at him, as if to discipline him for being too loud, as Xiaojun laughed and clapped his hand down on Ten’s back a few times.

“What?! When?”

“Just a few nights ago. It wasn’t anything big. He was kind of drunk anyways.”

“Did you say yes?”

“I mean, yeah. But I don’t think anything will, like, come of it.”

“Harsh,” Ten said, as they crossed the road together, coming to a stop at the corner. Xiaojun held the door open for Ten, strolling in after him and the two taking their place at the end of the Starbucks line.

“What? It’s not like I said I don’t like him. He’s just not a romantic guy, is all. You know I’m a sucker for being swept off my feet.”

“Boy, do I know,” Ten said, rolling his eyes. Xiaojun punched his shoulder with an annoyed grumble, before turning to face the menu.

“I think I’d commit murder for an eggnog latte right now,” Xiaojun said. The woman in front of him looked over her shoulder, looking him up and down with a grimace. Xiaojun made a face once she turned her back.

“I’m almost definitely sure Starbucks would take your money in exchange for an eggnog latte, instead of, like, the death of a man.”

“It’s a seasonal drink. I’m too embarrassed to ask.” Xiaojun shrugged, looking around the cafe before handing Ten Sooyun’s leash. “I gotta pee. Order my drink, okay?”

“Xiaojun, I don’t even know what you want.”

“Triple grande skinny cinnamon dolce latte,” Xiaojun said over his shoulder, “iced, please!”

Ten honestly wasn’t even sure he’d remember whatever Xiaojun said, but at least he’d try. Hopefully Xiaojun would be back by the time he reached the front of the line.

As soon as the line began to move forward, Sooyun started fussing with her collar, wiggling back and forth. Ten hardly spared her a glance; she did those kinds of things all the time, so he didn’t pay her any mind, until she wiggled right out of her collar, immediately darting for the nearest table.

“Oh, fuck,” Ten said, too loud for his own good, as he immediately moved to chase Sooyun underneath the tables. Despite apologizing multiple times, and even asking people if they could just grab her for him, Ten earned his fair share of glares and unimpressed scoffs, as people lifted their feet away from Sooyun.

“Soo, please!” Ten huffed, reached underneath another table before watching somebody else picking her up in their arms. She yipped excitedly in their arms, jumping up to lick at their mask-covered face.

“She’s cute,” the person said. Ten immediately stood up, wiping his pants and bowing his head.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry for what, Ten?”

At this, Ten furrowed his brows, standing up straight and looking at the stranger, just as they went to tug the mask from their face.

“Gongmyung?!”

Gongmyung grinned, petting Sooyun between her ears with a quiet chuckle before handing her back to Ten, who immediately clipped the leash back on after tightening her collar just a touch more than before.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“I-I’ve been okay,” he said, suddenly shy. Even in casual clothes, Gongmyung looked like the height of elegance, his hair swept back and clothes neat and clean. Even his cup looked nice in his free hand, and it was the same cup as everyone else’s! “What are you doing here?”

“Just grabbing some coffee,” Gongmyung said simply.

“I haven’t heard anything about you. Just... just about Jaehyun— on the news, I mean. What....” Ten let the question trail off, in case Gongmyung didn’t want to answer.

“Ah, Jaehyunie has been focusing his energy on international affairs. I’ve been working with charities and local communities more, so I’ve been putting myself out of the spotlight a bit. Focusing on more than one crown prince is a bit overwhelming for the media.”

“Local charities....” Ten echoed. Gongmyung laughed, much more openly this time.

“You look a little put out.”

“It’s just... a surprise.” Ten figured he should be honest about it. “I haven’t seen any of your family in so long.”

“Yes, well,” Gongmyung cleared his throat, “a lot has changed. It’s been quite some time.” With a pause, Gongmyung glanced at his phone. “I’d love to get a coffee with you, but I have an appointment in twenty minutes.”

Before Ten could think to say anything, Gongmyung grabbed a napkin and scribbled his number down on it, folding it and handing it to Ten.

“Just call me later. We can do dinner. I’d love to catch up.”

“O-oh.... Of course.” Ten nodded, felt a bit dumb when he didn’t have anything better to say. Gongmyung gave Sooyun one last pat on her head before gathering his things and leaving. With the mask on his face and the cap covering his hair, Ten saw how easy it was for Gongmyung to hide when he wanted to, as he took his leave.

“Nice job forgetting to order our drinks,” Xiaojun said, holding two cups in his hands. “Hey, what’s that?” He nodded his head towards the napkin in Ten’s free hand. “Don’t tell me that says what I think it does.”

“It... it was Gongmyung.”

At this, Xiaojun gave Ten an uncertain sweep of his eyes, humming and pressing his lips in a thin line. But Ten held the napkin out to Xiaojun.

“Throw it out. I don’t want it.”

Xiaojun let his jaw go slack, surprise easily taking over his expression.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes,” Ten hardly hesitated. “Throw it out. I said I was done with the royal family when Jaehyun left. I mean it.”

Xiaojun took the napkin, tore it up for extra measure, before throwing it in separate garbage bins. Ten sighed, let Sooyun down on the floor, and followed Xiaojun out of the store, onto the cold streets. They had plans to stop by the library, because as much as Ten liked to pretend he didn’t care about studying, he had a test coming up that weekend, and he had hardly studied for it. Xiaojun even bought Ten some blank flashcards  _(“This always helped me learn Korean when I first moved here!” “I’m learning graphic design....” “Well! Whatever!”),_ so he really didn’t want to let him down.

For the first time in a long time, Ten didn’t end the night thinking about Jaehyun, or what he was doing, or if he missed him, and instead, fell asleep with his glasses on, textbook on his chest, with Sooyun snoozing happily beside him.

  
  
  
  


Seoul didn’t look all that different when Jaehyun returned, but it felt so different to just be surrounded in his home country, in a language he understood, without a translator by his side constantly. Johnny had returned home with his father as well, and Jungwoo back to the family compound, presumably with Yukhei. It was the first time in a long time Jaehyun had been alone, with only his thoughts.

There was a tightness in his chest as soon as he returned to his bedroom, to his own home, standing in the empty space that smelled like old books and unlit candles. He almost wished he had a dog or a cat to welcome him home, because it was so lonely in there. Unlived in for almost a year, when Jaehyun flopped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, he felt like a stranger in his own home, uncomfortable in the sheets around him, the clothes on his back, just...  _being_ there made him feel like he wasn’t meant to be.

Jaehyun didn’t think he was a particularly anxious person. There was hardly space allowed for it in his schedule for the past year, and before that, he never would have figured he’d have an emotion like that.

Nervous? Yes, of course he had been nervous, and yes, he had been put off or excited, but never  _anxious,_ never  _panicked,_ the way he felt now.

His skin felt like it was crawling, heart pounding in his chest, in his neck, his veins pulsing with the rush of blood. His head felt heavy. The burn in his eyes from the sudden rush of tears only caught his attention for a moment, before he was bursting into tears, sobbing without knowing why. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought he was dying, as his chest went tighter than before, and he wondered if this was what a heart attack felt like.

Being a stranger in his own home was a horrible feeling, but not having somebody there to welcome him back was even worse, he decided, after he finally caught his breath and stopped crying long enough to realize just how exhausted he was, and fell asleep with the sheets tight around his body.

And all Jaehyun could remember was the sound of Xiaojun’s voice, Ten’s roommate, who saw him off before the beginning of all this, reminding him if he ever wanted a normal life that he’d be there, that Ten would be there.

All at once, he was bombarded with memories of Ten, remembering he wasn’t welcomed if he was still involved in this royal family business, and his brother, before they had apologized, calling him a fool in the way he always did, like he was trying to protect Jaehyun or something. Remembering Jungwoo and Yukhei arguing, and Yukhei sounding so  _angry_ that all Jungwoo dedicated his time to was serving Jaehyun as crown prince, and his mother, leaving her note claiming she couldn’t name a proper heir because of Gongmyung and Jaehyun’s arguments—

“Am I even really a crown prince?” Jaehyun said aloud, to nobody else but himself and his thoughts, because nobody else was there.

Being alone for the first time in a long time didn’t seem like such a great idea after all.

  


Jaehyun awoke the following day in his gross old clothes, feeling absolutely tacky, as he rolled out of bed and right onto the floor. Despite knowing he should have been up hours ago, he was still tired, eyes drooping with sleep as he stood up and yawned. With his arms stretched over his head, he took a moment to take in his still barren surroundings. No point in unpacking if his father was just going to make him leave in a couple of weeks.

An urgent knock at the front door startled Jaehyun from his thoughts, immediately flinching at the sound of it, how loud the person must have been for the sound to travel so far. After a moment, Jaehyun began heading downstairs, the knock coming once again. It was after a beat that Jaehyun realized it was two pairs of knocks, followed by faint voices.

“Crown prince!”

Jaehyun blinked, took another step to the front door, before opening it up and finding Jungwoo and Yukhei standing behind the door. They seemed overdressed for a Thursday, even donning the royal blazers, full of pins and medals galore, while Jaehyun was still wearing the outfit he had on the day before, but full of wrinkles and creases. Jungwoo let out a surprised noise as soon as Jaehyun opened the door, looking him up and down.

“Crown prince, you’re not even  _dressed._ Did... did you just wake up?!”

“Prince, we have to leave in less than ten minutes. You promised you’d be ready,” Yukhei spoke hushed, compared to Jungwoo, who was visibly losing his mind at the sight of Jaehyun. “Fuck, okay, get inside, we’ll get you ready.”

Jaehyun only half remembered promising to be ready on time, as they scooted him in. Yukhei took Jaehyun to his room, pulled out his inauguration outfit his stylists had sent home with him from the closet. When Jaehyun hardly showed any rush to get undressed, Yukhei let out a small huff, reached forward to undo the buttons on Jaehyun’s shirt.

“Respectfully, what has gotten into you?”

Jaehyun let out a long exhale. “I think I had an anxiety attack last night.”

Yukhei’s fingers stumbled over the buttons for a moment, before gathering himself and finishing the rest of the shirt. Jaehyun slipped it off over his shoulders, turned to grab the other from off of the bed. Yukhei covered his eyes, only caught a glimpse of Jaehyun’s back, freckles decorating his shoulders. “Oh.”

Jaehyun was surprised Yukhei took that as an answer. When Jaehyun turned around, Yukhei straightened his shirt out and buttoned it properly, up to the collar, before flattening it out.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this inauguration? It’s going to be a long ceremony.”

“Do I have an option?”

“Of course you do,” Yukhei replied easily.

“If this is what my family expects of me, then—”

Yukhei scoffed audibly, looked up at Jaehyun.

“Crown prince,” he began, “respectfully... have you done  _anything_ for this family because you  _wanted_ to do it?”

Jaehyun was taken aback for a moment, looked Yukhei up and down as if to say  _who do you think you are asking me this question like that,_ but the way Yukhei didn’t back down, the way he would have a few months earlier, made Jaehyun swallow hard.

“O-of course I have,” said Jaehyun.

“Your family expects so much of you in exchange for what?” Yukhei lifted the blazer Jaehyun had off of the bed, straightening it out before sliding one sleeve over Jaehyun’s right arm, then the left, and turning him around once more to button the blazer as well. “Anxiety attacks in the middle of the night? A strained relationship with your brother because you’re in competition for the crown?”

“Stop it,” Jaehyun said. Yukhei paused, as if debating his choices, before continuing.

“You can’t even have a stable household without leaving it abandoned for almost a year.” Yukhei stepped away to look Jaehyun up and down, as if surveying his outfit and making sure it looked good. “And the one relationship you had built up, you had to break off because of your family.”

“Shut up, Yukhei.” Jaehyun thought he sounded intimidating with the warning in the undertow.

“What does the family give you other than a crown that doesn’t even exist—”

“Shut up!”

Jaehyun surged forward, shoving Yukhei into the door behind him, pinning him there. Yukhei took a long breath as Jaehyun held him there, all adrenaline but no real strength or malice behind his actions. Even as Jaehyun breathed hard, knuckles white from gripping Yukhei’s shirt so tightly in his hands, he wasn’t going to hit him or anything. He was just so  _angry._

It took Jaehyun a moment to calm down, his vision going from red to black to a dull grey around the edges, as he let his hands drop from Yukhei’s collar.

“Are you mad because I’m wrong, or because you know it’s the truth?”

Yukhei was never really one to go for this type of confrontation. In all the time Jaehyun had known him, though, there had never really been a type  _for_ this confrontation. Even in his fight with Jungwoo, Yukhei was perfectly honest, only spoke exactly what he thought, what he knew to be the facts, and—

“Because... because it’s the truth,” Jaehyun said, muted. He leaned forward, let his forehead rest on Yukhei’s shoulder, as Yukhei relaxed, as if apprehensive Jaehyun was still planning on hitting him or something. “What am I gonna do, Yukhei? Everything I’ve been given... everything I’ve sacrificed... for a stupid crown.”

Yukhei sighed, brought his hand up to rest on the nape of Jaehyun’s neck.

“You know we’ll still be there for you, even if you don’t want to be prince,” Yukhei said. “You haven’t had your coronation yet. There’s still time for you to change your mind.”

Jaehyun knew he was right. Yukhei knew he was right. Still, the two of them continued to get ready for this inauguration, Yukhei even fixing a few of the badges on Jaehyun’s lapel and giving him a small, reassuring smile as they walked out of the room, for Jungwoo to do Jaehyun’s makeup in the car.

  


Jungwoo fussed over Jaehyun in the car, over his makeup, the fallout from the powder, the way Jaehyun hardly seemed to care whether or not it looked decent considering it was done in the span of ten minutes on a bumpy car ride. Honestly, Jaehyun didn’t really care if he looked as bad as he felt right then and there, all things considered, but it mattered to Jungwoo, so he let Jungwoo fuss and fix until he was happy enough with the evenness of his foundation (and after getting confirmation from Yukhei that it looked good).

“Maybe we should clear your schedule after today,” Jungwoo proposed, as he zipped up the makeup bag in his lap and set it to the side. “I think a few days to yourself would be ideal.”

Jaehyun didn’t have much to say in response to that. Part of him definitely wanted Jungwoo to clear his schedule, make sure he had the time to do whatever he wanted, or nothing at all, but another part of him nagged that it was not only irresponsible, but also counterproductive, considering he... didn’t have much else to spend his time on? Other than his restaurant, which he hadn’t had nearly enough time for, there wasn’t much he could actually volunteer his time for.

Thankfully, Jungwoo didn’t press on it any more than he already had. He just sat back in his seat, relaxed for the little bit of time they had left to themselves, before they would have to be surrounded with people yet again. Jaehyun sat back in his seat as well, turned to face the window.

Outside, people were bustling through the streets, talking, ignoring one another, some with masks over their faces, most of them with hoodies or sweaters on. A few business people walked by, some with men or women hanging off their arms, others just focusing on their phones and only looking up to check the street before crossing. Jaehyun put his window down, despite it being fairly breezy out, and watched as the winds whipped around street signs and made the traffic lights sway with the force behind them.

_There’s still time to change your mind._

Jaehyun hadn’t stopped hearing Yukhei’s voice echoing, stilted Korean and all. Even after they left the house, even while Jungwoo was speaking over the sound of the car and the radio, and Jaehyun’s own violently loud thoughts, he could still hear Yukhei repeating it over and over.

And for some reason, after a few minutes, Jaehyun could hear Xiaojun speaking to him as well, reminding him if he ever wanted a  _normal_ life, a chance to be like everybody else, and his words were just as intoxicating as Yukhei’s own, overwhelming him and drowning out any other thought he had.

The car slowed to a stop at a light, as did the rest of the traffic around them. A few cars pulled up on the side, in the turn lane, as Jaehyun stared so shamelessly out of them, searching for something in the dents and chipped paint of old cars, the reflection of new cars, in the windows at the faces staring back at him. If his mother were there, she would be chiding him for being so mannerless... but she wasn’t there, so Jaehyun didn’t stop.

It took Jaehyun a moment to realize there was somebody staring back from one of the cars beside them. His eyes adjusted to the tint of the windows, before he realized he recognized that face, knew the slope of their jaw and the color of their shaggy hair, and the plumpness of their lips, before Jaehyun was jumping forward in his seat and leaning his head out the window.

“Crown prince?” Jungwoo said almost immediately, reaching forward for Jaehyun’s arm.

The person in the other car reacted as well, putting their window down as just the light turned from red to green.

“Ten?” Jaehyun said, hoping he was loud enough for Ten to hear him over the sound of car engines, the wind, and the others walking on the sidewalks, talking too loud for Jaehyun to know if he  _heard_ him.

But even if Ten didn’t hear him, Jaehyun knew Ten recognized him, as his jaw went slack and his eyes wide, even turning to keep staring as the car turned away from Jaehyun’s own.

“Ten?” Jungwoo repeated. “Where?”

“He—” Jaehyun felt a sense of panic in his chest, as he nervously looked back, tried to catch a glimpse of what kind of car it was, or who was driving, or where they were going, but Jaehyun couldn’t see  _anything,_ they were too far. “His car just went that way. It was him. I  _know_ it was him.”

“Er, in the car?”

“He was right next to us,” Jaehyun said. He let his voice go soft. “I know it was him.”

Despite this, Jaehyun sat back in his seat, didn’t mention Ten again, but certainly didn’t stop thinking about him the entire way to the ceremony. Even as Jaehyun sat there and faked smiles for high politicians, asked about their families like he actually cared, he was thinking of all the times he had Ten in bed beside him, holding hands and drowning in the sheets of his bed like they had no other cares in the world.

At the end of the ceremony, Jaehyun pulled Jungwoo to the side, before they had to return to common conversation until the end of the night.

“Would you clear my schedule tomorrow?” Jaehyun glanced to his right, to ensure his family was nowhere near. “And... if I made a huge regrettable decision... would you stand by me?”

“Of course I’ll clear your schedule,” Jungwoo replied easily. “And only a fool of a prince would ask me that question. Of course I would.”

“If I weren’t your prince anymore, though....” Jaehyun trailed off quietly, “would you still—”

“You’ll always be  _my_ prince,” Jungwoo said, made Jaehyun blush with a faint smile, “even if you decide not to be  _the_ prince, but for now, you  _are_ the prince, so you’ll have to keep it up for just another night. Okay?”

Jaehyun nodded. Normally, he didn’t need these pep talks from Jungwoo, or anybody, for that matter, but it was nice to have one when he really needed it. And having some sense knocked into him by Yukhei earlier was really a necessity more than a happy accident. Jaehyun made sure to thank Yukhei for it later, even if Yukhei seemed a bit confused as to why Jaehyun was thanking him in the middle of this after party.

Jaehyun just hoped tomorrow wasn’t too late to change his mind, too.

  


The following day, Jaehyun requested a meeting with his mother and father, as soon as they woke up. This meant sitting in their dinner hall, waiting for breakfast to be served, Gongmyung on one side of him, and Jungwoo on the other. Yukhei sat beside Gongmyung, even though he served Jaehyun more often than Gongmyung ever utilized his services as his assistant.

“What’s this meeting all about?” Jaehyun’s father started first, taking a drink of his coffee in front of him and glancing at Jaehyun.

“I was hoping it would be a bit more private than this,” Jaehyun replied, not moving to take his coffee. He figured if his nerves were more jittery than this, he might run right out of the room before he could say what he needed to.

“What could be so private you don’t want to say it in front of your brother?” His father said. Jaehyun swallowed hard, sat up in his seat. He didn’t even want to look at Gongmyung, for fear of Gongmyung figuring out exactly what it was he wanted to say. If anything, though, Gongmyung knew what he wanted to say better than anybody else. He probably knew from the very beginning that this was how it would play out.

Jaehyun paused, gathered his messy thoughts into one pile in his brain, before saying the one thing he was certain would come out without being misconstrued.

“I no longer wish to pursue being the rightful crown prince.”

His mother nearly spit out her drink, instead covering her mouth and swallowing it down, whereas Jaehyun’s father  _did_ spit out his mouthful of coffee.

“What?”

“And... I plan on surrendering my royal status.”

“What?!”

Jaehyun felt his body shrink at the sound of his father and mother shouting at the same time, his mother in pure shock, and his father in anger.

“I appreciate the opportunities I’ve been given, but... this isn’t what I plan on pursuing in life. So, respectfully, I step down from crown prince. I’d also like to step down from the responsibilities as second crown prince.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Gongmyung interjected quickly.

“I.... I’d still like to be a part of the family, but not in any royal matters,” Jaehyun explained. “Not even as second crown prince. No more inaugurations, no ceremonies. No more backhanded conversations with politicians or trying to navigate my way through just living with my own brother. I just want to be a part of this family. With you as my father, and you as my mother, and  _you_ as my brother and not my competitor,” Jaehyun turned to Gongmyung.

“You don’t know anything about what it takes to be crown prince,” his father began, face red. “You haven’t seen anything, and you’re already quitting. What kind of spineless kid did I raise—”

“You didn’t raise me,” Jaehyun shot back. “You weren’t here for most of my adolescence. You were out goofing off in the name of the king.”

“Goofing off?!” His father snapped.

“Partying in the name of the royal family. Pretending you were forging relationships when you were really just drinking too much and holding people’s words against them. I can’t be a prince knowing that’s how business is done.” Jaehyun furrowed his brows. “And I’ve seen enough of what it takes to be crown prince. I know I can’t handle it.”

Just as Jaehyun’s father was ready to continue arguing with him, Jaehyun continued speaking over him.

“I’ve given up friendships with people just to try and keep up with this family. I nearly destroyed my bond with my own brother in the name of being crown prince. The one person I—”

Jaehyun stopped himself, because his father didn’t know about Ten, and Jaehyun didn’t need to  _let_ him know about Ten.

“Having a romantic relationship is almost impossible when I’m a part of this family. Unless I’m looking for a relationship where I have to navigate my way through normal conversations and act like I’m on eggshells, I’m screwed. I can’t do it. And I’m  _sorry.”_

Jaehyun stood up from his seat, set his napkin down in front of him.

“Decide what you’d like to do with me— disown me, take away my possessions, remove the royal family name from me. I don’t care. Just let me know if I should pack my things up by the end of the night.”

As Jaehyun began walking out of the dining hall with his father still yelling after him, he heard somebody rushing beside him. He half expected it to be Jungwoo, calling him an idiot or something, but it wasn’t. It was Gongmyung, following him out of the hall, before pulling him to a stop.

Jaehyun turned and bit back tears in his eyes, tried to speak and acknowledge Gongmyung, but felt Gongmyung pull him into his arms. Immediately, Jaehyun burst into tears, prickling at the corners of his eyes as he buried his face into Gongmyung’s shoulder.

“You’ll always be my brother,” Gongmyung said reassuringly. “Before and after all this, you’ve always been my brother.”

“Even after they disown me?” Jaehyun joked. Gongmyung let out a weak laugh.

“They’d never do that. But yes, even if you were disowned, you’d still be my brother.”

Gongmyung pulled away, took Jaehyun’s face in his hands and swept his thumbs over the tears on his cheeks.

“Are you going to find Ten?”

“I’m gonna try,” Jaehyun said, sounding sheepish. “But... even if I can’t, I know this is the right move. For my future, I mean.”

“Always the optimist,” Gongmyung teased, pinched Jaehyun’s cheek and earned a quiet petulant whine, as he batted his hands away.

Gongmyung gave Jaehyun one last hug, smiled at him and sent him on his way. Jaehyun didn’t want to spend much more time in the royal family compound with the way his father was fuming at the moment. Gongmyung reassured him that he’d get over it, even if Jaehyun felt like he never would.

Outside of the compound, Jaehyun pulled his phone out, ready to call a taxi service, when he heard Yukhei call his name out, followed by the  _beep-beep!_ of a car horn. There sat Jungwoo and Yukhei, Jungwoo driving his own car, and Yukhei hanging out of the passenger side window.

“C’mon, hyung!” Yukhei said, as Jaehyun ran to the car, hopped into the backseat and closed the door behind him with a laugh.

“How’d you two get out of there? I didn’t see you.”

“Well, we had to go around back to get the car,” Jungwoo said with a smile. “It was pretty easy considering the king was so distracted.”

Jaehyun ignored the way his stomach twisted, just as Yukhei started talking.

“So, like, do we still have to call you crown prince, or can we be on even ground with you now?”

“Xuxi!”

“What? I just wanna know if calling him Jaehyun is on the table or not. Everyone else gets to call him ‘Jaehyunie’ except for  _me.”_

“‘Jaehyunie’ is definitely off the table,” Jaehyun said. “‘Hyung’ works fine.”

“I don’t even get to call him ‘Jaehyunie’,” Jungwoo said, nudging Yukhei with his elbow, as they pulled out of the compound parking lot and headed towards the freeway. “What’s first on the agenda, cr— hyung?”

Jaehyun smiled to himself.

“Dunno. Maybe we should just have breakfast, since we didn’t get to before I dropped that bomb on my family.”

“All right, I’m starving!” Yukhei shouted. “Nose goes on who pays the tab.”

“Wait, wait, I’m driving!”

“Ah, you’re paying the bill, Jungwoo! I’m eating good today.”

“I am  _driving!”_

  
  
  
  


Ten wasn’t quite sure how he had been bullied into joining Xiaojun on this double date that wasn’t even really a double date, because Ten wasn’t  _with_ anybody, he was just there as this awkward third wheel, while Xiaojun and Taeyong tried to navigate their way through conversation the way a couple would.

Honestly, it kind of pained him to be there. As friends, they were great, got along well, but Ten could tell there wasn’t anything there. At least, when Taeyong was sober, there wasn’t. Apparently Taeyong was super wasted when he asked Xiaojun out, which explained a lot.

“Hey, could you do me a favor?” Xiaojun said, as he pulled Ten to the side.

“Does it involve bailing on this car wreck of a date? Because if so, yes.”

“Wow, okay. Fuck off, first of all,” Xiaojun said, tugging his wallet from his pocket. “No, I was gonna ask if you’d get me some bubble tea.”

“Can I get myself some?”

“What? Sure, whatever,” Xiaojun pulled his debit card from his wallet and handed it to Ten. “Taeyong wants to go into this music store, but I’ve been craving bubble tea, so get me a matcha one.”

Ten waited, quirked a brow.

 _“Please,”_ Xiaojun said, scoffed afterwards. “You’re the worst best friend, I swear.”

“Wouldn’t it just be easier to tell him you’ve been craving bubble tea?”

“Just— would you just get my drink?”

Ten left giggling, as he ambled along the sidewalk and hardly paid attention to the noisy sound of people around him, or the honks of car horns. He tightened his hoodie around his body to warm up a little bit. Thank god the bubble tea store was around the corner.

The line was pretty long, but Ten didn’t mind waiting, if it meant he didn’t have to return to Taeyong’s and Xiaojun’s date. Maybe he’d even be able to buy himself some more time if he drank his bubble tea there and ordered another one. Score one: Ten, for being so smart.

Scrolling through his phone, Ten took a seat after he ordered, replied to a few messages he had on Twitter. As of late, he was thinking of starting dating again, but couldn’t help thinking online dating was just so impersonal. Even being a millennial and all, he just wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with doling out all that personal information online. Not to mention, he’d heard all of Xiaojun’s horror stories from online dating. He really made it sound like the least appealing endeavor.

Even though Ten ordered his drink first and drank it there, it only knocked about ten minutes of time from his time with Xiaojun and Taeyong, so he figured maybe walking there really slow would shave off another five... at  _least._ God, he hoped this came to an end soon. Xiaojun promised to buy him dinner so it would be done before then.

After ordering another drink for himself and one for Xiaojun, Ten stuffed his phone in his pocket, started walking outside. Winter was definitely rolling in, as the sky was overcast and the winds were chilly, wrapping around his hands and making them colder with the tea in his hands.

As Ten rounded the corner, he was greeted by a loud voice, a tall figure, and then bubble tea  _all_ over his jacket, as the person slammed right into him. He stepped away with a quiet noise of surprise, looked down at his jacket, and the broken cups of bubble tea in his hands.

“Yukhei!”

Ten hardly registered the name, only set the cups down on the ground before sighing and pulling his jacket off. He couldn’t wear a soaked hoodie in this kind of weather. He might as well not have been wearing one at all.

“I’m so sorry. Let me pay for new ones— and your hoodie. I’m so sorry, oh my god.”

“I got it,” another voice volunteered, and it was only then that Ten furrowed his brows and looked back up. In front of him were three familiar people he hadn’t seen in months. Yukhei, his shirt soaked with bubble tea as well, Jungwoo, chiding him and trying to wipe his hoodie off enough to make it dry, and... Jaehyun. Standing at the far side of them, pulling his wallet from his pocket and sliding a few bills out.

“Would this cov... cover....” Jaehyun reached the bills out towards Ten, the two making eye contact, and immediately freezing up.

Ten inhaled long, felt his face growing red as he looked back down, anywhere but at Jaehyun. God, Ten hadn’t even brushed his hair this morning, had covered it with some beanie he had lying around the apartment, and now he was standing there with his hoodie soaked in green bubble tea, and his face was beet red and  _hot,_ he felt like the heat was radiating right off of his cheeks.

For once, Jaehyun didn’t look completely overdressed, but he was still as regal as ever, as Ten dared to look at him again. His hair was much longer than it used to be, midnight black against his soft white skin. Despite this, Ten could still catch sight of the scar just beside his lips, the one he used to kiss when they were together and Jaehyun would tell him to cut it out because he was so easily embarrassed by those kinds of things.

Even though they both could have said something, neither of them did. Instead, Jaehyun just held the money out to Ten again.

“Here. To cover your stuff.”

Ten nervously took it from Jaehyun’s hands, before shaking his head and trying to give it back.

“It’s fine. This hoodie was old. And I didn’t pay for the bubble tea. I mean—!” Ten nervously flushed. “I paid with my friend’s card. Like, wait— no, my friend  _asked_ me to get him some, so I got some, but it wasn’t my money, it’s his card that he gave me—” Ten hid his face behind his hoodie, as he tried to cool his ever-warming embarrassment. “Fuck.”

“If you’re not going to take the money, at least let me go buy some drinks to replace them,” Jaehyun said.

Ten nodded from behind his hoodie, but quickly pulled it away to stutter out, “wait. You don’t know w-what we got.”

“Mm, I suppose I don’t,” Jaehyun replied. Ten bit down on the inside of his cheek, tried to decide whether or not this was a good idea. Despite the nagging part of his brain that reminded him he said he was done with the royal family, he took a few steps forward, joined Jaehyun, and the two started the short walk to the bubble tea shop.

Jaehyun and Ten silently joined the line, looking anywhere but at one another. Ten tightened his grip in his hoodie, tried to find the words he wanted to say, just as Jaehyun turned to him.

“When did you—”

“Did you—”

The two stopped short, Jaehyun even blushing, the apples of his cheeks dusted red as he shook his head.

“You go ahead.”

Ten swallowed against the anxiety bubbling in the back of his chest, told himself that was okay. This was okay.

“When did you get back?”

Jaehyun hummed. “Only... a week ago? Maybe not even that long,” Jaehyun said. “We were meant to come back a few months ago, but my father is... unpredictable. He had us stop in the Ukraine before coming back.”

“Y-your turn.”

“Did you see me yesterday?” Jaehyun said. With the way Ten tensed up, Jaehyun figured he was right. Still, Ten nodded.

“Yeah. I did. Where were you going?”

“An inauguration,” Jaehyun replied easily, as they scooted up in the line. “One of the members of my father’s family was elected as... something.” Jaehyun shrugged. “Honesty, all I remember was it being boring.”

Ten let out a small laugh. “I had an interview yesterday.”

“Really?” Jaehyun darted his gaze back to Ten. “Like, for a different company, or...?”

“Not escorting,” Ten said. “I started going back to school. Not anything big, just graphic design. I had my first interview yesterday. They were... pretty impressed even though I’m still in school.”

“Really?” Jaehyun repeated, wanted to smack himself for not having anything better to say.

“Yeah. If they hire me, they’ll pay my tuition, so I’m hoping that goes well.”

“That’s...” Jaehyun searched for the words, blinking away his surprise, “that’s incredible, Ten. I’m really....”

“Surprised?”

“Yes, but not at your abilities. Just that I never would’ve guess graphic design.”

“I never would’ve guessed you were a foodie either,” Ten said. The fact that he remembered after all this time made Ten smile, as they finally reached the counter.

Ten ordered one bubble tea, and Jaehyun had to nag at him to order the second one, even though Ten said it was fine since he already had  _one_ before that.

“I heard your restaurant is doing well.”

“I haven’t been in almost a year. I left management up to an old friend of mine when I left.” Jaehyun hummed. “She’s always been quite the businesswoman, so I’m not surprised.”

“We should—” Ten stopped short, lowering his eyes. “You should go, I mean. It’s really blossomed a lot.”

“You’ve been since I left?”

“Only once... or twice.” Ten seemed shy about it, so Jaehyun didn’t press, but he couldn’t help noticing the “we should” that came before all of it. Was Ten having second thoughts?

They waited in relative silence for Ten’s drinks, and walked out together where Jungwoo and Yukhei stood on the sidewalk, Yukhei now waving his hoodie around to try drying it off.

“What princely duties are you attending to today?” Ten said.

“You didn’t tell him?” Yukhei said. Ten looked over at Jungwoo, who smacked Yukhei’s shoulder and nearly knocked him off balance. “What?!”

“Didn’t tell me what?” Ten said, now looking at Jaehyun, casting a suspicious glare over at him.

“I-it’s nothing.” Jaehyun tried playing it off, but earned an impatient pinch to his arm. “Ow, what was that for?”

“Didn’t tell me  _what?”_ Ten repeated.

“Just tell him!” Yukhei shouted, ready to yell it out himself, just as Jungwoo slapped his hand down on his mouth and started dragging him away. Jaehyun sighed, rubbed his forehead before pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. When Ten huffed impatiently, Jaehyun looked back at him.

“Well?” he said, sounded really bothered that Jaehyun wasn’t telling him. Jaehyun shook his head.

“It’s really nothing,” Jaehyun said. Once again, Ten huffed, thoroughly irritated with Jaehyun.

“You know, this is exactly why I said I didn’t want to see you after you came back,” he started, and wow, okay, Jaehyun didn’t think they were gonna go straight into an argument. “Your family never answers anything straightforward. You  _used_ to, but I guess being surrounded by people like that for almost a year made you just like them.”

“Okay, wait, hold on—” Jaehyun cut himself off as Ten stormed down the street, ignoring Jaehyun calling after him.

“I don’t know why I thought it’d be different.” Ten didn’t even stop at the crosswalk, despite the sign very  _clearly_ saying he couldn’t walk. He didn’t pay it any mind, stormed through, didn’t care for the other cars honking at him. Jaehyun chased after him, bowed at the cars behind him once or twice before finally reaching Ten’s side. He pulled him to a stop.

“Look, I don’t want to argue with you, Ten,” Jaehyun said. “It’s not like I was expecting you to be here, and all this to happen. I know you don’t want anything to do with me—”

“You’re just such—” Ten stopped and groaned in anger. “You’re such an idiot, sometimes!”

Ten’s outburst caught the attention of a few other people, who all covered their faces and turned away when they realized there was a fight going on not too far from them. This was  _so_ embarrassing. Jaehyun didn’t have anything else to say, just stopped and furrowed his brows.

“How is it you can navigate serious, worldchanging meetings with political leaders, but you can’t even read someone who loves you?” Ten said. “Oh, it’s so easy for you to learn that double-speak your entire family knows, but the moment it comes to relationships, you’re all— all constipated?!”

“Would you—” Jaehyun flushed in embarrassment. “You’re making a scene for nothing. We’re not even together anymore.”

“To be fair, we never were,” Ten shot back. “As far as everyone was concerned, I was just some escort you hooked up with for stress relief.”

Jaehyun jerked Ten back by his shoulder when Ten tried walking away.

“You honestly think I thought of you that way?”

“What else am I supposed to think? You never said anything about it before, and then when it came down to it, you chose your family and that stupid crown over anything we had— which, apparently, was close to nothing. And then you come back, and I bump into you, and it’s like you don’t even remember that I loved you.”

With all of that spilling out, Ten stopped, felt like he didn’t have anything else worth saying. Jaehyun couldn’t think of anything to say, so he just stood there, jaw slack, lips parted around half of an argument, half of an apology.

“Forget it,” Ten said. “You’re right. I said it was over, even if you came back.”

“I just—” Jaehyun started, caught Ten’s attention. “I just need you to be straightforward with me. If you want me to be back in your life, I just need to hear you say it—”

“You’ve got better thing to worry about than some escort throwing a fit—”

“Ten, I’ve wanted you back in my life for every day in the past year,” Jaehyun said bluntly. “You said even after I came back, you didn’t want this to keep going, so I respected that, but there hasn’t been a  _second_ where I wasn’t thinking of you. Of what we could’ve been if I had stayed instead.”

Jaehyun stopped to think of what he wanted to say, only had a split second to find it because he was scared Ten would storm away before he could get it out.

“Can we have dinner? Together?”

“Tonight?” Ten said.

“No! No, whenever you have a free night. Whatever n-night... works best... for you.”

Ten furrowed his brows. Jaehyun wasn’t one to usually wait patiently for Ten. He was always so demanding, made Ten free up his schedule more than once on his demand, mostly because of the fact that the royal family was much more demanding than Ten’s schedule ever was.

“I’ll explain everything,” Jaehyun continued. “What Yukhei was talking about. And if you don’t want to stay, you can leave, and I won’t try getting in contact with you ever again, okay? Just... just give me a chance.”

The way Jaehyun said it sounded so desperate for a chance, as he met his gaze for the first time since he started fuming. He looks really hurt. Ten let out an unimpressed grumble, before nodding.

“I’m free Friday night, after 4.”

“You pick the restaurant,” Jaehyun said. Ten hardly hesitated, just hummed before shrugging.

“Your restaurant. At least I know I’ll like the food there.” Ten pouted for a moment, a frown on his lips. “I’ll get there myself. Don’t send a car or anything.”

 _Don’t even know if I could,_ Jaehyun thought, wanted to laugh bitterly to himself, but didn’t. Instead, he just nodded, even though Ten was glaring at him suspiciously.

“You’re not arguing with me,” Ten said. Jaehyun shook his head.

“Of course not. I told you I’m not here to argue with you. You’re the last person I want to fight with.”

Jaehyun offered to carry the other bubble tea for him, but it seemed Ten was done with him, or at least, done with that conversation, as he confirmed their dinner date, and then walked off (see: stormed towards a store). At this point, Jungwoo let Yukhei go from his spot next to the street lamps, an annoyed look on his face, while Jungwoo crossed his arms over his chest and clicked his tongue disappointingly.

“You can’t just go around telling people stuff that isn’t your business!” Jungwoo said, voice hushed.

“What? I just thought he’d be the first person Jaehyun would tell. Am I wrong?”

“You’re not, but... perhaps on my own terms would be best?”

“Well... yeah, I guess so,” Yukhei said. “But tell him soon! He deserves to know.”

“I know,” Jaehyun placated Yukhei. “I know.”

  
  
  
  


Jaehyun felt like Friday came a lot faster than he intended. His father had called him in for a meeting, in which he clarified that Jaehyun couldn’t surrender his royal status. It would have caused too many ripples in their family, and what with being the first royal family in their government in a long while, they needed to keep their hold on the government secure.

However, he was no longer held to the ‘crown prince’ obligations he previously was. So as far as Jaehyun was concerned, this was as close to surrendering his royal status as he could get.

As per the course, Jungwoo and Yukhei dressed themselves up for the date as well, even though they’d be doing their own business while Jaehyun and Ten were on their date.

(Jaehyun wasn’t even sure if he could call it a date, but for lack of a better word, and fear that it was something less desirable than a date, Jaehyun was fine with calling it that for now.)

“You look like a high school student again,” Joohyun snorted from her place at the hostess stand. The sound of her voice made Jaehyun jump, startled from his thoughts. Chewing on a piece of gum, she blew a small bubble, popped it with her teeth, before sighing and flipping the page to the magazine in front of her.

“I know. I’m nervous,” admitted Jaehyun.

“I can tell. I’ve never seen you like this before.”

Despite knowing it was the truth, Jaehyun didn’t think having someone as suave as Joohyun telling him that helped much either.

“Are Jungwoo and Yukhei helping set up? Like you told them to?”

“I think they had the full intention to do it?” Joohyun looked over her shoulder. “But last I checked, they were eating the chocolate chip cookies we had just baked, so... probably not.”

Joohyun wasn’t one to let another person’s energy affect her too much, but with the way Jaehyun was pacing the entrance of the restaurant over and over, she could feel herself getting antsy as well, which was the last feeling she wanted before opening the restaurant.

“Jaehyun, look,” she started, walking out from behind the host stand to clap her hand down on Jaehyun’s shoulder, “I know all you’ve known for most of your life is being a prince. You’ve only known how to carry yourself as a prince. I get it. But clearly, this guy you found likes you for whatever you have to offer besides being prince. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have broken up with you.”

“That... doesn’t make sense.”

“Yes, it does,” she said. “Or at least it did when I thought of it. Just don’t stress yourself out over it. If it’s meant to go well, it’ll go well.”

Jaehyun hummed in acceptance, nodded his head. He’d have to get out of his mental space for a little while, to properly welcome guests and seat them. This was the first night he had ever presented himself as an owner of the restaurant to anybody else besides the staff, so he hoped at least greeting the guests and seating them went better. What happened once Ten arrived was out of his control, he supposed, as he began to look over the seating of the restaurant, and Joohyun smiled to herself as he spoke.

  


To say Jaehyun was caught off guard when Ten appeared in the entrance of the restaurant would have been an understatement. He had dressed up a little, wore a tan blazer over a casual t-shirt, and had his bangs slicked back with just a touch of mousse.

Jaehyun was in the middle of seating a huge table, introducing himself as the owner and thanking the guests for deciding to spend their time in his restaurant, when Ten decided to walk in, waiting patiently.

“Ah, j-just give me a minute?” Jaehyun said. Ten nodded, took a seat beside an older couple and bowed his head in apology.

Rushing to the back, Jaehyun grabbed Joohyun.

“He’s here. Oh god, I’m not ready. What if he tells me to never speak to him again? Fuck, is it hot in here?”

“Oh my god, Jaehyun-ah,” she said firmly, “you may not be the crown prince anymore, but you are  _Jung Jaehyun.”_

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jaehyun said.

“It means you come from a family of charming men. It means you’ve got something he wants. He came here because he wants you to show it to him.” Joohyun turned Jaehyun around, began pushing him out back towards the host stand, where Ten was still waiting, now making small talk with the older couple beside him. “Now go out there, and  _show_ him.”

With one final shove, Joohyun had Jaehyun rushing over towards Ten, stopping suddenly and trying to laugh it off.

“Er, I got us a table over there?” Jaehyun jutted his thumb over his shoulder. Ten flickered his gaze behind him, nodded without saying anything. “Okay. Uh, c’mon.”

It wasn’t like Jaehyun to be so ineloquent. From the first time he met Ten, he had all the words, knew exactly how to say them and when. He remembered brushing Ten off the first time he met him, and Ten insisting to stay with him.

Jaehyun remembered Ten storming after him in the halls of his family home, demanding to help Jaehyun with the injury on his forehead, and Jaehyun vehemently denying his help, because who was this stranger, this escort, to force their assistance upon Jaehyun?

They turned the corner, took a few steps up to the table Jaehyun had reserved for them for the night.

When Jaehyun turned around and found Ten already pulling his seat out, sitting down after a moment, he could remember that feeling Ten incited in him. A kind of childlike excitement, like the best game of tag he had ever played where he was constantly chasing after someone, and when he finally caught them, they chased back.

Blushing, Jaehyun took his own seat, scooted in and tried to find the words to really begin the conversation between them. After all, Ten still seemed a bit bitter with him. It made sense that he’d be upset, after a year of no contact, despite the mutual agreement to end their... whatever it was.

“Can I be honest with you?” Ten started instead.

“I would prefer it if you were, so yes,” Jaehyun replied.

“I don’t want anything... complicated.”

Jaehyun quirked a brow at this.

“I mean, I don’t want frills and sparkles and anything extra tonight,” Ten tried explaining. “I don’t need the most expensive bottle of wine, or, y’know, a piece of cake with gold flakes on it while on fire, or some candlelit confession or anything. I just... need you to be straightforward with me.”

“Have there been times where I wasn’t?” Jaehyun asked. His tone sounded painfully honest, so Ten sighed and shrugged.

“Part of what made the royal family so unappealing to me was the fact that speaking to any of you was this... game. Like, you had to speak two dialects of the same language just to get an answer that made sense, and even then, it wasn’t the truth.” Ten looked a little self-conscious as he spoke. Jaehyun resisted the urge to reach across the table and hold his hand. He didn’t have that right. “You fell out of that habit a while into our... thing,” he gestured vaguely. “It made me like you a lot more, so... please. Just humor me.”

Jaehyun dared to look up at Ten, who looked absolutely... small. His shoulders were stooped low, and his arms were crossed, completely closed off. Jaehyun uncrossed his legs and set his arms down on the table, despite every part of his memory chiding him for doing so.

“Of course. I don’t want to be anything but honest with you.”

Ten nodded, stopped suddenly when their waitress came around. She seemed nervous, as she bowed deeply at Jaehyun, who told her not to be so serious just because he was the owner.

“It’s not just the owner, but also the prince,” she explained, as her hands trembled while she pulled out a small notebook to write down their orders. Ten watched the way Jaehyun’s hands clenched, like she had hit a nerve, before squinting at Jaehyun and looking away.

“Thank you, but just think of me as the owner.”

She nodded her head and bowed at him once more before taking her leave. Ten turned his attention back to Jaehyun, already with an unimpressed look on his face.

Jaehyun let out a short, “what?”

“What’s with seating people? And introducing yourself as the owner? I thought you said you opened this restaurant under a pseudonym.”

“I did, but something has pushed me as of late to stop hiding it. The fact that I’m the owner, I mean. But an old friend of mine has been managing the restaurant since I had to take my leave, so I didn’t want to just... barge in here and try controlling it,” Jaehyun said. “So I’m starting small.”

Ten nodded along with Jaehyun’s words slow, didn’t make to say anything else about it. Jaehyun couldn’t tell whether or not that was a good thing, but didn’t want to press on it anymore either.

“So... you went back to school?” Jaehyun tried to flounder for the words. Ten let out a hum of confirmation. “How did that come about?”

“Well, you can only spend so much time by yourself at home before you feel like you’re losing it a bit.” Ten flickered his gaze back up to Jaehyun, just as their waitress returned with their drinks. Jaehyun wondered if it was obvious how much he was trying to hide his face in his drink, as he took a sip and looked anywhere but at Ten. “After you left, my normal clients... didn’t appeal to me as much. When I cut down on them significantly, so did my income.”

“Oh,” said Jaehyun, felt like he sounded awfully dumb.

“Xiaojun pulled the weight for a while, but I felt guilty. He told me if I felt so bad, the least I could do was go back to school, so I did.”

“And graphic design? How did that come about?”

“Honestly, it wasn’t my original plan. One of my friends mentioned it in passing, and since I was going back to school already, I figured taking a random class wouldn’t hurt. I mean, I had a philosophy class, too, but I wasn’t planning on making millions being the next Plato.”

Jaehyun snorted into his drink, held his hand over his face while he tried to hide the embarrassed blush on his face. Ten couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“I really took to the course, and... well, the rest is pretty self-explanatory.”

“And your interview?” Jaehyun said. “Did you hear back?”

“Not yet,” Ten said, and looked visibly bothered. “They said even if they didn’t end up choosing me, they’d email me about it, but I haven’t heard anything.” Ten sighed, readjusted his position in his seat, as he let his hands rest on the table. Jaehyun felt a bit of the tension melt from the atmosphere, and thanked whatever deity up there listening for it. “It’d be really nice to have my tuition paid for. That way I could start making money and paying Xiaojun back when I started slacking off.”

Jaehyun parted his lips to interject that he could pay for schooling, or pay Xiaojun back, or both, if Ten really wanted him to, but stopped short, bit his tongue instead.

“I don’t think I mentioned it before, but you’ve changed a lot since we split,” Ten said. Jaehyun’s expression shifted from passive, to surprised, as he let his jaw go slack just a bit. “I remember turning on the TV one night, and... y’know, there you were. In all your princely glory. You looked... like you were right where you were meant to be.”

At this, Jaehyun let his expression fall. “Looks can be deceiving,” he said.

“I was pretty convinced,” Ten said.

_Show him._

“Yes, well, the experience was unpleasant,” Jaehyun paused to gather his thoughts. “And I’m not going back.”

Ten hardly perked up, let out a passive, “no?”

“No. I’ve already informed my father of this.”

“I’m sure that didn’t sit well with him.” Ten appeared unimpressed, like what Jaehyun was saying just wasn’t important enough to garner a proper response. So Jaehyun cleared his throat and sat up properly.

“I think he was more focused on the fact that I stepped down from the running for the throne,” Jaehyun said, “as crown prince. I surrendered my status as heir.”

The pause Ten gave before his expression turned from confusion, to shock, to confusion once more, was enough for Jaehyun to smile just slightly.

“Wait. You... you’re not a prince, anymore?”

“Technically, I am.” Jaehyun gestured vaguely with his hands. “My father can’t just omit me from the family, and truthfully, that would be a step too far for me,  _but..._ I pulled myself from the running for the throne, so Gongmyung is now the only heir. I told my father I didn’t have any interest in the politics of the family either.”

“But....” Ten furrowed his brows. “But why? That’s what you’ve been groomed to do since you were a kid! You had a political advisor picked out and everything. You’re a  _prince.”_

“My obligations as a prince hindered my desires as a human being. My position was putting not only my relationships at risk, but others as well, just because they were a part of my life.”

Finally saying it out loud felt like a weight had been lifted off of Jaehyun, as he let out a long breath and allowed his body to relax with the action.

Once again, they were interrupted by their waitress, as she brought their plates and set them down. Jaehyun didn’t notice Joohyun behind the waitress, flashing Jaehyun a wink before setting Ten’s plate down. The two took their leave without hanging around. Jaehyun didn’t make to touch his food, so neither did Ten.

“You told me once that nothing made you happier than hearing somebody call you ‘prince’.”

_Show him._

“I thought that was the truth,” Jaehyun agreed. “It may have been the thing that made me happiest before.”

“Before?”

“Before I fell in love with you.”

The way Jaehyun said it, with such finality and finesse, made Ten blush this time, his cheeks and ears turning beet red with his words. If it weren’t such a serious moment, Jaehyun thought he would’ve laughed at himself for being so over dramatic. But this was serious, and Jaehyun wanted to make sure Ten  _knew._

“I fell in love with Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, 20 years old at the time, 21 years old now,” Jaehyun said. “Happy late birthday, by the way.”

Ten wanted to bury his face in his hands and hide, now that Jaehyun had turned the tables on him.

“How did you describe yourself? Escort by choice, future... translator? What a shift to graphic designer.” Jaehyun shook his head with a quiet laugh. “I remember every word you said that night. I thought you were so amazing, Ten. So untouchable, even for a prince. I don’t know how you managed to turn a plain introduction into something so unforgettable.... I still think you’re amazing. I always have, from the first moment we met”

After a moment of silence, contemplation, Ten cleared his throat.

“So, that’s what Yukhei wanted to tell me. That you surrendered your right to the throne?”

“Yes. He’s... a romantic.” Jaehyun paused to circle his index finger over the rim of his glass, as if considering his next words. “He flew out to see Jungwoo and formally apologize to him. It was sweet.”

“You’re deflecting,” Ten said.

“I’m just trying to figure out how I want to say exactly what I want to say to you,” Jaehyun explained. “I... don’t expect you to immediately welcome me into your life. Actually, I’d understand if you just wanted to storm out of those doors right there, cut me out of your life for good. You’d have every right to.”

“But?” Ten supplied.

“But, I want to show you,” Jaehyun said. “I want to show you how much I love you, instead of just saying it. I’d do anything. Surrendering my right to the throne was easy. It was the easiest decision I’ve made in my life.”

“How was that easy?” Ten challenged. “That throne is all you’ve wanted since I met you.”

“Surrendering that throne gave me the opportunity to sit at this table with you,” Jaehyun said.

“That’s it?”

“That’s  _enough,”_ Jaehyun corrected. “Like I said, I would understand if you got up from this table and stormed out, never spoke to me again, but I want— I  _need_ you to know that every moment before this, I couldn’t stop thinking of you, and every moment after this, I won’t be able to stop either. I’ll wonder if you’re happy and living well, comfortably.” Jaehyun caught Ten’s attention, met his eye contact. “Not even the idea of being prince was worth losing you.”

Ten knew he had set the ground rule for Jaehyun to be honest, but having all of this laid out in front of him was a little overwhelming. Jaehyun spoke with no qualms, no hesitation in his words. The only time he stopped was to think of how to word his next thoughts, and they were more beautiful and eloquent than the last.

“You’re... you’re crying,” Jaehyun said, voice soft. Ten lifted his hand from his side, darted it for his cheeks, where he found tears rolling down the plumpness of his face. He sniffled for a moment, tried to play it off as anything else  _but_ crying, though it did nothing to cover up the truth.

“You made me cry at dinner,” Ten said.

“I didn’t mean to,” Jaehyun said. “I’m sorry. I know I said a lot at once.”

“You said more than you ever did when we were together before,” Ten replied.

“I thought I was being so cool back then,” Jaehyun said with a small laugh. “Acting all aloof, like I was protecting you from something bigger than you could comprehend. You probably understood the gravity of the situation better than I did.... That’s why you left.”

“I couldn’t handle it,” Ten said.

“Well, neither could I.”

Jaehyun looked down at Ten’s hand on the table, now outstretched just a little more than before, with his palm facing up, open. Welcoming. Jaehyun hoped he wasn’t misreading the cues here. He lifted his own hand, let his palm rest on Ten’s own, before Ten tightened his grip and squeezed affectionately.

“You’re a fool, Jung Jaehyun,” Ten said, but without malice, without condescension or intimidation, or anger, in all the ways he had heard it before. Ten said it with nothing but pure love, as he held Jaehyun’s hand in the middle of the dinner table between them.

“I know. Sorry it took me so long.”

Ten’s face softened, his demeanor opening up, as he brought his other hand up and cupped Jaehyun’s hand in his own.

“It’s okay. You’re here now.”

When Ten said it, it sounded genuine, nothing but pure appreciation laced in with his words, and Jaehyun had a feeling he’d be okay.

  
  
  
  


As Jaehyun stood outside of Ten’s new apartment door, he wondered if maybe there was still time for him to tuck tail and run away from there, or if it was too late. Ten had told him it would take a minute to prepare everything, but Jaehyun didn’t think it would take  _this_ long, and with the way his heart was racing, he thought another minute of this would put him six feet under.

“Hyung, I’m gonna open the door, okay?” Ten shouted through the door. Jaehyun nodded, then slapped his hand against his forehead. How was Ten supposed to hear that?

“Okay!”

Jaehyun waited just a moment longer before he heard Ten’s footsteps, and then the door swung open.

Waiting in the entrance of the apartment was a medium sized ball of fluff, hardly interested in looking up at Jaehyun, until Ten called its name once, made it look up.

And then it bolted from its spot towards Jaehyun, hopped off of the floor, and into Jaehyun’s chest, knocking him over, along with all the breath from his lungs.

“Oh, Sooyun!” Ten shouted, ran after her and tried pulling her wiggling figure off of Jaehyun, as he tried to catch his breath between all the puppy kisses and little yips she let out here and there. “See, I told you she’s friendly. Sooyun,  _stop,”_ Ten chided, as she wiggled out of his grip and fell upon Jaehyun again, this time nipping at his hair, and then kissing his face again when she grew tired with that. “God, she really likes you.”

“No accounting for taste,” Xiaojun said, as he walked over Jaehyun and headed inside the apartment, slipping his winter coat off. “Guys, c’mon, it’s really cold out there. You’re wasting all the heat.”

Ten grabbed Jaehyun by his legs, dragged him into the apartment while Jaehyun tried to keep Sooyun from licking his face off (or so it felt like).

“How old—  _ack,_ she licked in my mouth!” Jaehyun shouted, immediately sitting up and trying to hold Sooyun away long enough to wipe his lips.

“Sooyun, down,” Xiaojun ordered, and Sooyun let out a quiet yip of disappointment, crawling away and heading towards her bed beside the couch.

“She’s never really listened to me,” Ten said. “Xiaojun’s the strict parent.”

“Ten’s the reason she’s like five pounds overweight right now,” Xiaojun grumbled, flopping down on the couch and sighing.

“She’s a growing dog! She’ll fill out.” Ten reached over and patted Sooyun’s belly. “It’s all muscle anyways.”

“Three excuses in less than ten seconds. You see what I have to put up with around here?” Xiaojun directed towards Jaehyun, who snickered and watched as Ten’s cheeks turned red in annoyance.

“Well,  _someone_ has to love her,” Ten said.

“Oh, I don’t love her? I’m the one that brought her home!”

Just as the two began playfully arguing back and forth, Jaehyun heard his phone ringing in his back pocket. As he tugged it out, he found a few messages from Jungwoo, and another from Gongmyung, both addressing the fact that they had a family dinner later, and Jaehyun was nowhere near home.

“Everything okay?” Ten said. Jaehyun locked his phone and tucked it back in his pocket, waved it off.

“Just family stuff. Don’t worry about it.”

“Is it important?” Ten said. “If you have to go, I understand.”

“It’s just a dinner they want me to sit in on,” explained Jaehyun. “Even if I’m not a part of it, they want me informed, but we made these plans a week ago. I don’t want to go back, anyways.”

Ten was ready to let it slide, when Jaehyun’s phone rang twice more, and then began to ring with a phone call. Jaehyun flushed in embarrassment.

“It’s okay. We can reschedule.”

Jaehyun trudged to grab his things from the door, sliding his shoes on and his hoodie along with it. Ten tugged his own on, with a scarf, considering it was snowing out.

“I’m really sorry,” Jaehyun said. “About my family. I didn’t think they were going to need me there that badly.”

“It’s fine, really,” Ten said, reassuringly. “They’ve been pretty easy on the whole ‘pulling-you-away-from-me’ thing for the past few months. I can forgive it a few times.”

There was truth in Ten’s words, because after Jaehyun surrendered his right to the throne, and he began dating Ten (officially this time, like, even asked him to be his boyfriend and everything!), Jaehyun’s family hadn’t bothered them too much, perhaps once or twice for dinners or engagements like these.

As they approached the door, Jaehyun turned around to say good night, before they were out in the cold. Ten crowded him against the door, smiled against his lips before kissing him. Jaehyun let his eyes flutter shut, savoring his kiss like it was the first and last time Ten would kiss him.

“I can just say I left my phone in the car,” Jaehyun supplied, albeit weakly. Ten laughed, tucked his face in the crook of Jaehyun’s neck to kiss there as well.

“Not very responsible, crown prince.”

“God, don’t call me that,” Jaehyun said, snorted with laughter alongside Ten.

“It’s just funny to see your reaction to it sometimes.”

Pressing one last kiss to the tip of Jaehyun’s nose, Ten pulled away, made to open the door and walk Jaehyun the rest of the way, as Jaehyun set his hand down over Ten’s own and made him stop in his place. When Ten looked up at Jaehyun, Jaehyun couldn’t help the awkward smile that tugged on the corners of his lips.

“Did you... maybe want to come with me?”

Ten let his eyes widen just a touch, clearly surprised.

“I mean, it’s an important dinner, but... y’know, they’re the ones interrupting and all, and you’re important to me, so I think it’s only fair you get to sit in on a dinner, at least. P-plus, I mean, it’s free food, and—”

“Yes,” Ten said, made Jaehyun stop stumbling over his words. “Let me grab some stuff. I’ll be right back.”

Jaehyun watched as Ten headed back down the hall, opened his apartment and rushed inside.

If Jaehyun thought back too hard on all the missed opportunities he’d had with Ten, be it in their relationship or before it, he wanted to kick himself more often than not. How many times he had tried hiding Ten away from things, or all the times he thought Ten wouldn’t understand or care for royal matters, when all Ten wanted was to be a part of them, a part of Jaehyun’s life.

Ten came rushing out of the apartment door again, this time in a better jacket, and smiling wide, a beanie over his head.

“Here. I was gonna give this to you for Christmas, but I think now is a better time than ever.”

Ten held out a beanie for Jaehyun, as Jaehyun took it into his hands, turned it over. It almost matched Ten’s own, the same pattern, but different colors.

“It’s really cute,” he said, before pulling it on over his head.

“Aw, it’s cuter  _on_ you,” Ten teased, as Jaehyun held the door open, let Ten walk in front of him.

Yes, Jaehyun had missed a lot of things with Ten, and most of it was his own responsibility, but with Ten by his side now, Jaehyun felt like he had a chance to make up for all of his mistakes, all of his efforts to keep Ten away.

Ten looked over at Jaehyun, pressed his index and middle finger against the middle of his forehead.

“You’ll get wrinkles thinking too hard like that. I can tell when you’re overthinking stuff.”

Jaehyun couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him at that. “How can you tell?”

“Because,” Ten shrugged, as if that was answer enough, but continued after Jaehyun laughed harder, “you’re not that complicated of a guy.”

Off the top of his head, Jaehyun could remember at least three other times Ten said he was overly complicated, hard to understand, hard to talk to, and this... this was a nice change.

“Hey,” Jaehyun said, to catch Ten’s attention. Ten stopped in his tracks, turned to Jaehyun.

“What is it?”

Jaehyun hummed, leaned forward to press his forehead against Ten’s own. Ten smiled, his eyes fluttering shut and lashes curving just so around his cheeks.

“You know I love you, right?”

The initial embarrassment that shrouded those words melted away whenever Jaehyun said them.

“Of course I do.” Ten paused to kiss Jaehyun, chaste, but still enough to say  _I love you, too,_ before he was pulling away with a chill. “Now let’s get in the car, it’s freezing out here!”

Jaehyun followed Ten to the car, held the door open and let Ten rush in before he got any colder. Then he walked to his own side, started the car up, and held Ten’s hand between his own as they drove away, and into the frostbitten streets of Seoul.

And it was simple, just the way they both wanted it to be.

 


End file.
